Saba : fish, spuds and cabbage
Posted: 19 Dec 2020, 13:29
Something different to look at today : the official arms of the Dutch island of Saba (in the Caribbean). They're rather unusual in featuring vegetables, namely a potato on the shield and cabbage leaves on either side of the shield, rather like mantling.
The arms were adopted by the island authority in 1985, and formally granted by Queen Beatrix in 2010. The image above is the official painting from the Hoge Raad van Adel (the Dutch heraldry authority). The official blazon (freely translated) is : Argent, a mountain Vert the peak encircled by a cloud Argent between in chief dexter a tropical fish Azure and Or and sinister a three-master ship in full sail Gules sails and flags Argent, and in base a potato proper.
The mountain represents the island itself (which is only 5 square miles in area) and is dominated by a dormant volcano. The fish represents Saba's historic fishing industry, the ship the "international renown of Saban seamen", and the potato Saba's "well-known potatoes and excellent climate".
The external ornaments are an Audubon shearwater (a bird found on the island) and six cabbage leaves. The motto means "With oars and sails".
Interestingly, the original (1985) description of the arms described the external ornaments (again freely translated) as "A shield thereabove the well-known local bird Puffinus Lherminieri or 'Audubons Shearwater'". The Hoge Raad van Adel, however, decided to treat the bird as a supporter, and blazoned it thus : The shield supported from behind by an Audubon shearwater proper accompanied on either side by a stalk with three cabbage leaves Vert.