Martineau du Plessis, D.; 1700

Denis Martineau Du Plessis, author of the text of the work «Nouvelle Géographie», calcographic engraving on copper plates, printed in black on paper, the general format of the plates being smaller than 19 x 25 centimetres, with folded maps where necessary, 3 volumes, volume I with illustrations 1 to 27, volume II with illustrations 28 to 62, including illustration 30 «Carte dépl. en reg. p.126 : carte de l'Espagne», volume III with illustrations 63 to 91, published by G. Gallet, Amsterdam, circa 1700.

For the identification of this book and of the map with coats of arms documented below I have used Gallica, the digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), which publishes all the illustrations of «Nouvelle Géographie», under the reference «Réserve A 200 189». These illustrations come from the Médiathèque du musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac.

This book is an illustrated geographical work edited in 3 volumes; it is composed of explanatory text and a set of maps and plates engraved on copper ~ engraved in intaglio, without signature or explicit attribution of the engravers.

Of this book I own the Italian version of its cartographic illustrations; this concerns the map entitled «L'Espagne», corresponding to volume II, illustration 30, page 126 of the original work, and «Spagne», corresponding to volume I, page 359 of the Italian edition, with place-names in Italian, which adds details such as, for example, the cardinal points indicated along the sides of the map and similar coats of arms, although engraved by a different hand, etc.

The Italian version of the map was given to me by Dottor Gian Carlo Onida, from Frugarolo, Alessandria, Italy.

The map represents the Iberian Peninsula and, in the original book, is presented as a folded map; in the Italian version the fold line is clearly visible. It shows the hydrographic network, pictorial relief and abundant toponymy, and is flanked by the heraldic shields of the former kingdoms and regions of Spain, including Portugal as a distinct heraldic entity. Political borders are not represented, following a French geographical convention common in cartography of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

The authorship of the engraving is not indicated either on the plate or in the book. On the antiquarian market this map, in its original version, has been attributed to Daniel de La Feuille (1640–1709), an engraver who moved from France to Amsterdam, the place of publication of this book; therefore this attribution may be considered plausible, although I have not been able to document it conclusively. The engraver of the Italian version is unknown to me.

In later periods, many of these plates were separated from their original volumes and circulated as loose sheets on the antiquarian market. The existence of copies with wide margins, such as mine, also allows one to consider the possibility of independent impressions taken from the original plate, a point that cannot be confirmed with the available documentation.

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Bibliographical reference of century XVII.

Classification: In black and white and French language.

The author is Martineau du Plessis, D..

External resources:

• Illustrations de Nouvelle géographie at the National Library of France.
• Volume II. Carte dépl. en reg. p.126 : carte de l'Espagne at the BnF.

Blazon of the lineage Voganzi in Venice

Azure, two tibiae proper in saltire, between four fleurs de lis Or

Escudo de azur, dos tibias al natural en sotuer, cantonadas de cuatro flores de lis de oro.

Illuminated and watercolor.

The blazon in Italian is «d’azzurro, a due tibie in decusse al naturale, accantonate da quattro gigli d’oro».

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Blazon keywords: Without divisions, Azure, Two, Tibia, Proper, In saltire, Cantoned, Four, Fleur de lis and Or.

Style keywords: Watercolor, Outlined in sable and Illuminated.

Classification: Personal, Lineage, Interpreted and Coat of arms.

This portrait, attributed by the seller to Frans Pourbus the Younger, was described on the market as that of a Venetian lady holding a «Venetian Lace Fan» and was said to come from a private collection in Florence, Italy. More precisely, its sales title was «Portrait of a Lady with a Venetian Lace Fan c.1595, Remarkable condition 1597».

From a heraldic point of view, the work presents, as a significant element, a coat of arms of oval shape painted on the column accompanying the figure. Oval forms are often associated with the shields of married women; if this late-sixteenth-century shield originated, for example, in England, one could be more confident that there is a relationship between the oval shape of the shield and the lady depicted. Originating in Italy, and more specifically in Venice, this oval shape may have been chosen either because the sitter was a woman or simply as a matter of fashion, since in that period and region oval shields can also be found in ecclesiastical contexts and used by men, the oval then being regarded as a form more architectural and artistic than combative.

I became aware of this painting because I was asked by a university whether I could identify the coat of arms on the column. The identification of coats of arms in historical painting is a slow, uncertain task and, in most cases, an unproductive one. It may require hours, days, weeks or even years, and often does not lead to definitive results. For this reason, I generally try to avoid this type of research.

In this particular case, I was unable to identify it. However, coats of arms, once seen, remain in visual memory; that is precisely what they are designed to do. Twenty months later, while casually reviewing a series of heraldic records published by the Italian heraldist, «Vittorio|Gifra», one of them caught my attention at an unconscious level. I continued moving through the series, but an unmistakable sense arose that something relevant had been overlooked, which led me to go back and examine the entry again with care. At that moment, the lady with the Venetian fan and the coat of arms painted on the column of the portrait immediately came to mind.

The consulted entry stated verbatim: «Stemma famiglia #VOGANZI. @voganzi Arma: d’azzurro, a due tibie in decusse al naturale, accantonate da quattro gigli d’oro. A.S.Mi. Reg. 0002: stemmario Marco Cremosano - 1673; [...] et anco di diverse Famiglie d’Italia, Vol. II°, p. n°333, posizione, 3^ fila e 3° stemma da sx a dx. [Cfr.: Archinto: «de #VOGANZA de Venetia» (I 13 V a)]. Vittorio Gifra. Lun01-12-2025».

Indeed, it had been found: the coat of arms on the column belongs to the Voganzi family of Venice, whose arms are, in Italian «d’azzurro, a due tibie in decusse al naturale, accantonate da quattro gigli d’oro» ~ in English «Azure, two tibiae proper in saltire, between four fleurs de lis Or» ~ in Castilian «escudo de azur, dos tibias al natural en sotuer, cantonadas de cuatro flores de lis de oro».

I then proceeded to document the finding and inform the interested parties.

In the Archinto, the form «Voganza» appears, referring to a specific individual or to the nominal origin of the lineage, in the singular; for example, «una dama de la casa Voganza». By contrast, in the stemmario by Marco Cremosano the form «Voganzi» is recorded, which corresponds to the plural commonly used to designate the collective body of members of the Voganza family. Taking into account that only about 70 years elapsed between the portrait (1597) and the stemmario (1673), it is plausible that at the time the painting was made the surname could already appear as «Voganzi» or in a very similar form. Although surnames do evolve over time, the interval considered is not one of centuries, but of 7 decades.

My most important doubt in this identification concerns the colour of the field; when I first saw it, I hesitated between sable and azure. It seemed too light to be sable, I thought; it could be azure, but it is not very azure, so in my notes I left it as: «either sable or azure».

When I depict elements in saltire, I usually give precedence to the bend over the bend sinister, so my natural inclination would be to place the tibia bendwise above the tibia in bend sinisterwise. In this case, however, I have placed the tibia bend sinisterwise above, in order to remain consistent with the coat of arms on the column. In any event, this is merely an artistic detail, with no relevance from the standpoint of heraldic description, which is the same in both cases.

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Categories: Identification, Interpreted, Watercolor, Outlined in sable, Illuminated, Without divisions, Azure, Two, Tibia, Proper, In saltire, Cantoned, Four, Fleur de lis and Or.

Francisco Sarandeses Pérez, of the Institute of Asturian Studies and of the International Institute of Genealogy and Heraldry, «Heraldry of Asturian Surnames», 408 pages, black and white illustrations, 27 centimeters, includes bibliography and indexes, foreword by H.R.H. The Duke of Calabria, prologue by The Hon. Mr. Julio de Atienza, Baron of Cobos de Belchite, photographs by Mr. Jesús González-Galatea, published by the Asturian Studies Institute of the José María Quadrado Trust, Superior Center for Scientific Research, Provincial Council of Oviedo, printed by Gráficas Europa. Legal Deposit S. 137-1966, Oviedo, 1966.

Cover of the original 1966 edition reproduced in the second facsimile edition of 1994.

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Bibliographical reference of century XX.

Classification: Castilian language and In black and white.

The author is Sarandeses Pérez, Francisco.

Bibliographical reference mentioned in the following article:

• Sarandeses Pérez, F.; 1994

Francisco Sarandeses Pérez, of the Institute of Asturian Studies and of the International Institute of Genealogy and Heraldry, «Heraldry of Asturian Surnames», 408 pages, 89 color plates, black and white illustrations, 27 centimeters, includes bibliography and indexes. prologue to the facsimile edition by Dolores Duque de Estrada Castañeda and Fernando Alós Merry del Val, facsimile edition published by the Royal Institute of Asturian Studies of the José María Quadrado Trust, Superior Center for Scientific Research, printed by Eujoa Artes Gráficas, ISBN 84-87212-26-3, Legal Deposit AS.-1.309/94, Oviedo, 1994.

Reference to the original edition of 1966

The facsimile edition faithfully reproduces the original 1966, [Sarandeses Pérez, F.; 1966], published by the Provincial Council of Oviedo, with a foreword by H.R.H. The Duke of Calabria, prologue by The Hon. Mr. Julio de Atienza, Baron of Cobos de Belchite, and photographs by Mr. Jesús González-Galatea.

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Bibliographical reference of century XX.

Classification: De bibliotheca, Castilian language and Black and white with color plates.

Author: Sarandeses Pérez, Francisco.

Internal resources: A facsimile edition as a physical book on paper.

Azure, a castle triple-towered per pale Argent and Or, masoned Sable, port and windows Azure, between in chief two bars wavy Argent, in base two bars wavy Argent.

Arms designed by me, in plain tinctures, outlined in Sable, with a semi-circular outer contour and with a texturized finishing.

The arms of Kevin Larkin from Ireland and Spain, designed and emblazoned by me. Alternative blazon using the heraldic term gemel: «Azure, a castle triple-towered per pale Argent and Or, masoned Sable, port and windows Azure, between two bars gemel wavy Argent, one in chief and one in base». Note that since there are 2 bars and both are gemel, they total the same 4 as when we describe 2 in chief and 2 in base.

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Blazon keywords: Azure, Argent, Or, One, Two, Castle, Triple-towered, Party per pale, Masoned, Port and windows, Between, In chief, Bar, Wavy, In base and Gemel.

Style keywords: Outlined in sable, Plain tincture and Semi-circular.

Classification: Personal, Created, Boa and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Larkin, Kevin.

Azure, a castle triple-towered per pale Argent and Or, masoned Sable, port and windows Azure, between in chief two bars wavy Argent, in base two bars wavy Argent.

Escudo de azur, un castillo partido de plata y oro, mazonado de sable, aclarado de azur, acompañado en jefe de dos fajas ondadas de plata, y en en punta de dos fajas ondadas de plata.

Coat of arms devised by me, highlighted with lights and shadows, outlined in Sable, with a semi-circular outer contour and with a watercolor finishing.

The arms of Kevin Larkin from Ireland and Spain, designed and emblazoned by me. Blazon in French: «D'azur à la tour partie d'argent et d'or, donjonnée de trois tourelles, maçonnée de sable, ouverte et ajourée du champ, accompagnée en chef et en pointe de deux jumelles ondées d'argent».

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Blazon keywords: Azure, Argent, Or, One, Two, Castle, Triple-towered, Party per pale, Masoned, Port and windows, Between, In chief, Bar, Wavy and In base.

Style keywords: Outlined in sable, Illuminated, Semi-circular and Watercolor.

Classification: Personal, Created, Boa and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Larkin, Kevin.

Azure, a castle triple-towered per pale Argent and Or, masoned Sable, port and windows Azure, between in chief two bars wavy Argent, in base two bars wavy Argent. Motto: «Fortificado por el Sol».

Escudo de azur, un castillo partido de plata y oro, mazonado de sable, aclarado de azur, acompañado en jefe de dos fajas ondadas de plata, y en en punta de dos fajas ondadas de plata. Lema: «Fortificado por el Sol».

Coat of arms devised by me, highlighted with lights and shadows, contoured in Sable, with a semi-circular external shape and with a leather finishing.

The arms of Kevin Larkin from Ireland and Spain, designed and emblazoned by me. In heraldry, the rule of tinctures states «no color on color, no metal on metal». This means a castle metal Argent cannot bear a castel metal Or as a charge. However, in this design, the castle is divided party per pale, vertically, into Argent and Or. This division allows both metals to coexist, as each metal occupies one side of the charge without violating the tincture rule. Similarly, in a party field, both quarters can be of the same type, either color or metal, making this design heraldically correct.

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Blazon keywords: Azure, Argent, Or, One, Two, Castle, Triple-towered, Party per pale, Masoned, Port and windows, Between, In chief, Bar, Wavy, In base and Motto.

Style keywords: Outlined in sable, Illuminated, Semi-circular and Leather.

Classification: Personal, Created, Boa and Coat of arms.

Bearer: Larkin, Kevin.

Continue with: Sealed arms of Kevin Larkin.