Personal coat of arms of a harpress

This is where the V.P. Heraldic Design will post finished projects.
User avatar
Lucas Garczewski
Posts: 9
Joined: 09 Jul 2013, 20:53

Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Postby Lucas Garczewski » 15 Mar 2014, 01:03

Not entirely sure if this is the right place (moderators, please move to the right space if not), but...

I've been working on arms for my partner, Barbara. Since these are Polish arms they are emblazoned on a shield (not a lozenge).

Balzon: Gules, a winged cat sejant affronte, it's wings displayed and elevated, the dexter one bat-like, and the sinister one brid-like, Argent, charged on it's breast with a crescent moon Azure, in chief a harp Or strung Argent.

You will notice that the illustration below does not match the blazon. That's because this is an early rendering composed of clip arts, to be drawn from scratch once the final design is accepted. Please refer to the blazon for the intended look and use your imagination to picture the arms for now. ;)

Barbara is a professional harpress and plays an early gaelic harp, hence the harp in the arms, which also denotes ties to Ireland, where Barbara studied. The cat's two wings hint at a sort of duality (darkness & light, if you will), and the animal itself is a totem of sorts and also one of her favorite animals. Finally, the crescent moon is a reference to her spiritual beliefs.

So, my question to you: would you do anything differently? Any clashes or issues you see?

Hints for the final rendering and composition are also welcome, but please bear in mind that the image below is not final (see blazon for the inteded look).

Image

Iain Boyd
Posts: 167
Joined: 15 Jul 2012, 01:48
Location: New Zealand

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Postby Iain Boyd » 15 Mar 2014, 03:33

Dear Lucas,

An interesting composition.

Personally, however, I would prefer to see the harp being held / played by the cat rather than displayed separately above the cat's head.

All the best,

Iain Boyd

User avatar
Chas Charles-Dunne
Posts: 624
Joined: 10 Jul 2012, 15:48
Location: England - TL 80102 93862
Contact:

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Postby Chas Charles-Dunne » 15 Mar 2014, 11:23

My observations concern the crest.

The torse is of two colours rather than metal and colour. Is this Polish tradition?

The cat in the crest only has bird wings. Should it have one of each?
Regards
Chas
IAAH Fellow

Image

User avatar
Lucas Garczewski
Posts: 9
Joined: 09 Jul 2013, 20:53

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Postby Lucas Garczewski » 15 Mar 2014, 11:56

Thanks, Chas, good points.

Chas Charles-Dunne wrote:My observations concern the crest.

The torse is of two colours rather than metal and colour. Is this Polish tradition?


I was wondering if Gules & Azure would work myself, now that I've slept on it I'm fairly certain that they don't. The torse will be Gules and Argent.

Chas Charles-Dunne wrote:The cat in the crest only has bird wings. Should it have one of each?


It will have one of each, essentially replicating the charge of the arms, save for the position (i.e. the crest cat is not going to be affronte). It will also be holding the harp with one paw.

Ryan Shuflin
Posts: 582
Joined: 26 Jul 2012, 13:00
Location: Germany

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Postby Ryan Shuflin » 15 Mar 2014, 22:39

As far as the crescent, it might be mistaken for a brisure or mark of cadency. How much that matters is up to the armiger, and how apparent she wants the symbolism to be, if at all. With the wings, I think dragon wing might be the more common blazon term, although one can argue there is a difference between a bat and a dragon wing.

User avatar
Lucas Garczewski
Posts: 9
Joined: 09 Jul 2013, 20:53

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Postby Lucas Garczewski » 16 Mar 2014, 01:11

Ryan Shuflin wrote:As far as the crescent, it might be mistaken for a brisure or mark of cadency. How much that matters is up to the armiger, and how apparent she wants the symbolism to be, if at all. With the wings, I think dragon wing might be the more common blazon term, although one can argue there is a difference between a bat and a dragon wing.


Thanks, Ryan.

There is no cadency system in the Polish heraldic tradition, since arms are always inherited by all children, undifferenced (one of the peculiarities of the Polish system).

That said, in this age of globalization, it's still a valid point. I'm going to discuss this with the armiger.

User avatar
Chas Charles-Dunne
Posts: 624
Joined: 10 Jul 2012, 15:48
Location: England - TL 80102 93862
Contact:

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Postby Chas Charles-Dunne » 16 Mar 2014, 10:45

Would it not be possible for the crescent to be worn like a medallion on a chain?

The symbolism would still be there and would not be confused with cadency by anybody.
Regards
Chas
IAAH Fellow

Image

User avatar
Chas Charles-Dunne
Posts: 624
Joined: 10 Jul 2012, 15:48
Location: England - TL 80102 93862
Contact:

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Postby Chas Charles-Dunne » 16 Mar 2014, 10:49

Purely as an artistic thing - the cat has a long tail. I think that its tail should curl in front of the torse and back up again, rather than be hidden behind it.
Regards
Chas
IAAH Fellow

Image

User avatar
Chris Green
Posts: 3621
Joined: 10 Jul 2012, 13:06
Location: Karlstad, Sweden

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Postby Chris Green » 16 Mar 2014, 15:19

The term "harpress" is unusual. Presumably it is the female form of "harper". I have never come across it before and always assumed that the term for both sexes of harp-player was "harpist".
Chris Green
IAAH President

Bertilak de Hautdesert

User avatar
Lucas Garczewski
Posts: 9
Joined: 09 Jul 2013, 20:53

Re: Personal coat of arms of a harpress

Postby Lucas Garczewski » 16 Mar 2014, 17:10

Chas Charles-Dunne wrote:Would it not be possible for the crescent to be worn like a medallion on a chain?

Good idea, thank you, we might do that.

Chris Green wrote:The term "harpress" is unusual. Presumably it is the female form of "harper". I have never come across it before and always assumed that the term for both sexes of harp-player was "harpist".


While slightly off topic, I'll gladly explain. ;) Barbra and a number of people within the historical harpers' community uses the term "harper" to denote a person playing an early harp, as opposed to a "harpist" who plays a modern (orchestra/filharmonica) harp.

This is just a linguistic convention, not a hard division, but it does reinforce the fact that these are really two quite different musical instruments. I find it quite elegant and it's what that community uses, so I follow their example.


Return to “Design Assistance Requests”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests