I like the fimbriated chief. :D
I think I like it without the dice, though.
Take care,
I agree, I think the dice make it look too busy. I’m even for dropping the firmbriated chief, I thought it looked better without.
PBlanton;43262 wrote:
...However, I’m not too hip on the fimbriated pale because the Or fimbiration will not show up well against the Argent pale at a distance.
Andrew J Vidal;43264 wrote:
...I’m even for dropping the firmbriated chief, I thought it looked better without.
I agree that the Pale looks better without it. I fimbriated the chief to begin with so that the line between the sable and gules would be better defined and then I added it to the pale because I got carried away. I don’t know which version of the chief I like better with or without it. What do you all think?
JRB
Click on the link below. Those are tobacco plants in chief. The cup represents drinking.
[IMG]http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/4102/baker1ma0.th.jpg
Trent;43267 wrote:
The cup represents drinking.
The vup could also represent a trophy. Many sports give out cups as the winning trophy.
I still think the subtle smoke would look better as a wavy border, instead of a wavy chief.. i’ll whip something up later
Your Loving Cup is a good replacement for the tuns. It can repesent not only drinking but communal drinking, drinking games and game trophies. Here is a one made of sterling silver by Peter and Ann Bateman in London, 1796:
Here’s a version with pipes. Click below.
[IMG]http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/2097/baker2pp2.th.jpg
I’m not a fan of the look of the wavy chief, but its symbolism could suggest the flow of drink as well the snake-like movement of cigar/pipe smoke.
Jonathan,
I guess this is just my week to be contrary ... sigh ...
You’ve got some dandy designs going on here, but I’d like to take your mind in another direction. Imagine the Association of Disparate Gentlemen in full armor and on horseback in, say ‘around’ the year 1150 ad, riding along next to the Templars. I pick this year because a) the Templars existed then and b) because ‘personal’ heraldry had not yet developed, so everyone in the group might bear the same arms on their shield.
So ... here we are, watching all this. Here come the Templars bearing Argent a cross Gules a chief Sable. Very manly, very powerful. Here come the Gentlemen bearing smoking pipes Or? Dice? Chessmen?
Of the designs so far, I’m liking Trent’s last two: you already have great reasons to use the crow and these designs use it nicely, but on the pale it just seems too small.
How about this: lose all the obvious associations to drinking, smoking (I’ve done both for a long time ... they aren’t manly pursuits, trust me) and gaming. You know who you are, you don’t have to advertise it. But take the basis of Trent’s beautiful design and make it simple, manly and powerful.
Howzabout, Argent, a crow/raven/chough (take your pick, they are all basically the same bird) close proper on a chief wavy Gules three cinquefoils Or? Now you have your crow, for "Strategist in battle; watchful for friends; divine providence." AND you have cinquefoils which could represent the blossoms of the tobacco plant, which is much more subtle. And might look something like this:
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g29/PaddyW_photos/gents2.jpg
You could even call the bird a ‘rook’. get it? Just another idea ... I like the one with the tobacco plants, too.
Patrick’s concept is my favorite so far because of it’s simplicity.
It captures all of the colors Johnathan wanted—red, black, white, and gold.
The black chief and red field make all of the previous versions too dark for me.
Quote:
**looks over his shoulder to make sure his wife isn’t reading this**
Might I suggest a "seme of lavender proper"
I like the gules in the shield, but I agree that the rook is too small. Perhaps the use of flaunches gules will provide some color contrast, without deminishing the rook.
I’m surprised that nobody caught this: heraldic crows, rooks, ravens and corbies are proper (which I also missed in the blazon) only when their beaks and legs are red. So I’ve updated the previous image and blazon.
Okay…There’s been a lot of good ideas in this thread. I like Philip’s version with the large tun, Trent’s version with the tobacco plants, and Patrick’s complete revamp as well. I do think, however, that I’d like to keep the chess king as it could represent both the gaming and the fact that we’re the "kings of our castles." (At least, we like to pretend we are.)
Honestly, I don’t think I’ll be able to make a decision on my own. I’ll probably just take several of the best designs and present them at our next meeting and put it to a vote.
If there are any other suggestions, please make them. I’d still like to see Colin’s idea about the wavy bordure and any others you might have.
I’m also going to keep fiddling around with designs and posting them here.
If you are kings in your castles, then perhaps what you need in the shield is a king and a rook side by side—the chess notation for a king that’s been castled.