Shield of arms thumbnail 1
Shield of arms thumbnail 2
+1
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 50a, The Paul and Jill Ruddock Gallery

Shield of arms

Coat of Arms
1580-1600 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The use of coats of arms (stemmi in Italian) emerged in the 12th century as a way of identifying armoured knights in combat.The practice was then adopted by the nobility and by banking and merchant families. They placed them on the outside of buildings and on tombs as identifiers or signs of allegiance. Similar stemmi also appeared on livery and small-scale objects.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleShield of arms
Materials and techniques
Istrian stone
Brief description
Coat of arms, relief, Italy, early 17th century
Physical description
Coat of arms in istrian stone. The shield of arms resides within a scrolled frame, having terminal spinx figures on either side, and being surmounted by a mask. The central shield carries two crossed lions paws (lion's jambs erased in saltire) betwen a frontally disposed lion's head (face in chief) and a bird's leg (erased and erect in base). An inscription reads INGENIVM SVPERAT VIRES.
Dimensions
  • Height: 90cm
  • Width: 62.2cm
  • Depth: 14.4cm
  • Weight: 80kg
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Marks and inscriptions
INGENIVM SVPERAT VIRES
Translation
Genius overcomes force
Credit line
Cavendish Bentinck Bequest
Historical context
The lion's head above crossed paws was identified as the arms of the Raspi family in the seventeenth century in Vincenzo Coronelli's Blasone Veneto.
Subjects depicted
Summary
The use of coats of arms (stemmi in Italian) emerged in the 12th century as a way of identifying armoured knights in combat.The practice was then adopted by the nobility and by banking and merchant families. They placed them on the outside of buildings and on tombs as identifiers or signs of allegiance. Similar stemmi also appeared on livery and small-scale objects.
Bibliographic reference
List of Objects in the Art Division South Kensington Museum acquired during the Year 1892. Arranged according to the dates of acquisition, with appendix and indices. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1893. pp. 228
Collection
Accession number
1817-1892

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdAugust 11, 2006
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest