Il Museo Pio Clementino (page 2/2)

Heraldic Crest and Symbols of Art

This heraldic crest is from the title page to Volume IV of the huge book. If you are able to give a formal description of this image I’d love to hear from you; informally, it shows an armorial bearing of a head (probably Zephyr, the West Wind) blowing a flower, surmounted by three stars. The shield is mounted on a shell, and has myrtle branches [...] [more...]

Heraldic Crest and Symbols of Industry

This heraldic crest is from the title page to Volume VI of the huge book. If you are able to give a formal description of this image I’d love to hear from you; informally, it shows an armorial bearing of a head (probably Zephyr, the West Wind) blowing a flower, surmounted by three stars. The shield is mounted on a shell, and has myrtle branches [...]putto (a naked boy, anatomically correct) grasping a bird (a goose?), a cornucpoia of coins, and a rather peterbed-looking mask. On the right is a cornucopia of fruit and vegetables, an Egyptian-style vase, a severed head or bust, and instruments of navigation: calipers for measuring distance on a chart, a square and a book. The whole may signify spoils from plundered distant lands but I am not certain. [more...]