From 1967 to 1983 when Anguilla left the federation, St Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla had the following CoA:
Argent, a chevron Gules between two flowers of the Poinciana in chief and a schooner in base proper, and a chief Azure the head of a Carib proper, between a fleur de lys Or and a Rose Argent seeded Gules.
Crest: On a helmet lambrequined Or and Sable, a torch Vert with flames proper held by a black and a white hand proper.
Torse: Argent and Azure.
Supporters: Two pelicans, the dexter one holding a palm tree the sinister one a stalk of sugar cane.in chief and a schooner in base proper, and a chief Azure the head of a Carib proper, between a fleur de lys Or and a Rose Argent seeded Gules.
Motto: Unity in Trinity.
Following the secession of Anguilla the CoA was changed slightly and the motto altered to: Country Above Self. This is the CoA currently shown on the St Kitts & Nevis UN web-site and the government's official web-site:
The explanation refers to "a lighter in full sail" instead of a schooner and the principle tincture of CoA, mantling and supporters appears to have become bleu celeste. A lighter is of course a flat-bottomed barge, so either the (new) blazon is wrong or the depiction on the current official CoA is wrong; either way it isn't a schooner. As for bleu celeste as the principal tincture, this can only be considered good heraldry if one accepts that bleu celeste may properly be considered a metal. I wonder whether the College of Arms was consulted about the change.
A further oddity is the mural crown in both achievements which is not mentioned in the blazon. The earlier version is gules and in the later it has become vert.
St Kitts & Nevis - tinctures?
- Chris Green
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St Kitts & Nevis - tinctures?
Chris Green
IAAH President
Bertilak de Hautdesert
IAAH President
Bertilak de Hautdesert
- Arthur Radburn
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Re: St Kitts & Nevis - tinctures?
I wonder if it really is bleu celeste, or simply an attempt to render Argent as silver rather than white.Chris Green wrote:As for bleu celeste as the principal tincture, this can only be considered good heraldry if one accepts that bleu celeste may properly be considered a metal.
Regards
Arthur Radburn
Arthur Radburn
- JMcMillan
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Re: St Kitts & Nevis - tinctures?
I think Arthur's explanation is undoubtedly correct.
This is the emblazonment shown in the section on national symbols at the St K & N government website, http://gov.kn/
This is the emblazonment shown in the section on national symbols at the St K & N government website, http://gov.kn/
Joseph McMillan
Alexandra, Virginia, USA
Alexandra, Virginia, USA
- Chris Green
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Re: St Kitts & Nevis - tinctures?
Somehow the StK&N Government seems to have come into possession of a particularly poor rendition of its current arms which shows not just the argent as bleu celeste but the mantling also of the wrong tinctures. JMcM has undoubtedly found a much more accurate version.
There is, I now see, another difference between the original CoA and the current version:
Original crest: On a helmet lambrequined Or and Sable, a torch Vert with flames proper held by a black and a white hand proper.
Current crest according to the StK&N web-site: A helmet topped with the battlements of a tower appears with a flaming torch upheld by the hands of an African, European, and a person of mixed descent. The torch signifies the struggle and quest for freedom by a people of diverse ethnic origins, but united in purpose.
The latest rendition of the CoA illustrates a vessel that is certainly not a schooner, but resembles no lighter I have ever seen. To me it looks much more like a gaff-rigged cutter, a type of vessel that would have been widely used by the RN and in colonial government service in the Caribbean during the 19th century.
There is, I now see, another difference between the original CoA and the current version:
Original crest: On a helmet lambrequined Or and Sable, a torch Vert with flames proper held by a black and a white hand proper.
Current crest according to the StK&N web-site: A helmet topped with the battlements of a tower appears with a flaming torch upheld by the hands of an African, European, and a person of mixed descent. The torch signifies the struggle and quest for freedom by a people of diverse ethnic origins, but united in purpose.
The latest rendition of the CoA illustrates a vessel that is certainly not a schooner, but resembles no lighter I have ever seen. To me it looks much more like a gaff-rigged cutter, a type of vessel that would have been widely used by the RN and in colonial government service in the Caribbean during the 19th century.
Chris Green
IAAH President
Bertilak de Hautdesert
IAAH President
Bertilak de Hautdesert
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