Heraldry on the Kelvingrove Exterior - Part 3

Continuing our meander all the way around the exterior of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, we find the following arms. Again, the images not of red sandstone carved arms are found on the Heraldry of the World website.

Inverness. This one struck me as a bit odd (I like it, mind you, because of my ongoing research into the use of camels in heraldry), since it appears to take the dexter supporter and place it on the shield in place of the crucifix throughout:

Unidentified. It should be some civic arms between Inverness and Kirkcudbright, but I have been unable to identify them, and the lack of colors doesn't help. These arms look like Montrose, but the alphabetization is incorrect for that to be true. And unfortunately, the tree in front of the name makes it impossible for me to read the inscription that would make the identification clear, though the visible "NE" also makes Montrose impossible. Nor has an internet search been of assistance. Had I realized the problem at the time, I would have walked up closer to the building and made a note of the name,

That said, I suspect it is Kincardine, since the placement alphabetically along with the other clues fits (though the current arms for Kincardine and Deeside, the coat in black and white below, does not match the carved arms in any way):

Kirkcubright. The lion seems to have either lost or gained a fess checky overall:

Kinross and Clackmannan. Here again, there are some major changes going on. The black and white shield below is Kinross; the color one below it is Clackmannan. Both Clackmannan arms have a saltire as an element, but that is the only similarity:

Lanark. We have shared some images of the arms of Lanark earlier in our review of the heraldry in and about Glasgow (e.g., the one in color below from the Corinthian Club):

Linlithgow. We will see more versions of these arms in future posts, when our tour traveled to Linlithgow Palace and St. Michael's Church there:

Orkney and Shetlands. Again, there are differences between this depiction and the arms of the Orkney Islands (the second coat below) and the Shetland Islands (the third coat below), though they all share the prow of the lymphad of the Orkneys and the prow of the drakkar of the Shetlands. (I apologize for the fuzziness of this photo; I hadn't realized until after I got home and saw it on a larger screen that the autofocus had focused on the tree branch and not the carved arms on the wall):

Peebles:

Next time, we finish up with Perth through Wigton.

Heraldry on the Kelvingrove Exterior - Part 2

Continuing our alphabetical way around the exterior of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, we come to the following coats of arms. As before, the non-Kelvingrove images are from Heraldry of the World:

Dumbarton:

Dumfries;

Edinburgh:

Elgin and Nairn. Here, two coats of arms have been "impaled" on a single shield:

 

Fife:

Forfar. Here the arms are so completely different that they share no common elements at all:

Haddington. Here, too, the two shields are completely different:

Next time, Inverness through Peebles!

Heraldry on the Kelvingrove Exterior - Part 1

There is all around the exterior of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum a series of thirty carved shields (beyond the non-heraldic ones) with coats of arms from various towns and counties in Scotland. Because of the number of shields, I am going to break them up into two groups of seven and two groups of eight.

Additionally, while they are all in alphabetical order on the building, from where we walked down to the Museum I ended up beginning halfway through the alphabet, right after Inverness. However, in the interests of doing them "up right" (and because my OCD won't have it any other way), we are going to start with Aberdeen and work our way around to Wigton.

I will also be pointing out along the way how some of these arms have changed since being carved for the Kelvingrove, as town and county councils have been merged, eliminated, or otherwise changed, thus forcing changes to their heraldry.

In the four posts about these shields on the exterior of the Kelvingrove, the images of the arms which are not photographs of the red sandstone carvings were found on the website, Heraldry of the World.

First, Aberdeen:

Then, Argyll. As you can see, this is one of those which has changed, while retaining parts of the earlier coat:

Ayr:

Banff:

Berwick:

Bute. Another one that has changed in the interim:

Caithness. This one has changed a lot, the carved arms on the Kelvingrove bearing more resemblance to the arms of the Earls of Caithness (the colored arms below) than to the current civic arms (though both retain the lymphad [ship]):

Next time, Dumbarton through Haddington!

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - Non-Heraldry

Following our tour of the University of Glasgow, we all marched down the hill to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

It's a big place, with a most eclectic collection. I mean, really, in one of the main halls there were stuffed birds and animals on one side (including an elephant!), some silver pieces on the other side, and overhead a Spitfire Mk XXI.

But the biggest display of heraldry, and non-heraldry, was on the exterior of the building.

Today, I thought I'd share the non-heraldry with you, and then get into the major display of heraldry that goes all the way around the building.

First, of course, since it's both large and over a main doorway, is this tribute to Pheidias or Phidias (480-430 B.C.), a Greek sculptor, painter, and architect, creator of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, his statue of Zeus at Olympia, and who was the director of the construction of one of the most famous buildings in the world, the Parthenon in Athens.

Another non-heraldic display on a shield bears the name of the Venetian Renaissance painter Tintoretto (1519-1594).

And then there's this blank shield with a roundel containing an imperially crowned lion's face above it.

All really cool, and very nicely carved, but despite the shield shapes, not really heraldry now, is it?

Join us next time for that!