He Argentinian national shield Was created in 1813 by the Constituent General Assembly in view of the incipient nation's need to have its own seal.
The choice of the badge took place long before it was made official, so that its selection was more given by the use than by the taste.
It was Manuel Belgrano who began to use it as a symbol of the pennant of the troops he commanded in the struggle for independence.
Finally, the 12 of March of 1813 was signed the decree that officially accepted the Argentine national shield, of oval form, with a crown of laureles, tied with a ribbon with the colors white and celestial (the ones of the flag) in the tip and A sun at the top.
In the center, the union of the provinces with human forearms of narrowed hands, which support a vertical pica, with a Phrygian cap punzó, is symbolized on the patriotic tones.
During the 200 years that followed, Argentina would undergo social, political and economic changes of all kinds, even the seal suffered alterations, but today it is still using that same model of 1813.
History
Although the Argentine national shield was made official in 1813, there are documents that prove that its use was given much earlier, especially as a weapon insignia of the Viceroyalty of the River Plate.
The seal was made by Agustín Donado, then deputy for the province of San Luis, who received the mandate of the Assembly of 1813 for its design.
But it was the goldsmith Juan de Dios Rivera who was responsible for his final impression, drawing inspiration from the Jacobin shields of the French Revolution, a detail that is present in the hat that stars the seal.
Finally, on 12 March 1813, in the National Constituent Assembly, Hipólito Vieytes and Tomás Antonio Valle, secretary and president of the same, respectively, signed the official decree.
"That the Supreme Executive Power use the same seal of this Sovereign Body with the only difference that the inscription of the circle is that of Supreme Executive Power of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata,"said the brief statement.
Discussions about its design
Although the design was commissioned to the deputy Agustín Donado and in the official documents it shares the confection with God Rivera, the history of its creation has some forgotten protagonists.
Inspirations on the national flag, patriotic symbols, union and freedom, and Jacobean forms, have different origins, related to those who participated in its creation.
In addition to Donado and Dios Rivera, it is believed that Bernardo de Monteagudo, a politician of the time, and the Peruvian artist Isidro Antonio de Castro were also architects of the Argentine national coat of arms.
Although their names do not appear in the official records of their constitution as a badge, the protagonists of their design recognized the collaboration of these two men.
Symbology
Each part of the national coat of arms of the Argentine Republic has a symbolic explanation, while its oval form has definite proportions.
This one is made in the relation 14/11, and divided by a horizontal line in the middle part, that separates the celeste of the bottom, of the white in its superior zone.
The sun, called the Sun of May, by the date of the Revolution, is in its growing phase on top, which symbolizes the birth of the new nation. It has 21 rays, 10 in the form of flame and 11 straight.
The bare forearms, with narrowed hands, which supports the pica, represent the union of the peoples of the United Provinces of the River Plate to support freedom, symbolized by the pica.
The Phrygian skull cap, which completes the central image, was the emblem of the French revolutionaries of 1793, who marked every generation of leaders.
The laurels refer to victory and triumph, commemorating the military glory of the battles of independence. It has twenty-three leaves on the inside and twenty-five leaves on the outside.
Finally, the ribbon in the shape of a bow with the colors of the national flag that join the laurel wreaths, are the expression of Argentine nationality.
First uses
After Manuel Belgrano Began to use this shield as a symbol of Argentine nationality in its emancipatory struggles, the state also incorporated it before making it official.
According to the records of the time, it was used for the first time on February 22, 1813 to seal two letters of citizenship of the Assembly of the year XIII. A few days later it would become official.
Modifications
The 24 of April of 1944, the National Executive Power, decreed that the design of the shield would be finally the one made originally in 1813, but until then the insignia underwent some modifications.
According to official documents, the sun varied in its forms, sometimes with a more angelic face and with different numbers of rays.
The Phrygian cap had different inclinations and alterations, and the flag was modified in the proportions of its ellipsis. All these changes often happened because of the whims of the rulers on duty.
Finally, in 1944 the discussions ended and it was decreed that:"The National Coat of Arms will be a reproduction of the seal used by the Sovereign General Constituent Assembly of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata of 1813."
References
- National Symbols, Casa Rosada, official archive. Casarosada.gob.ar
- Assembly of the year XIII , Pablo Camogli, Aguiar, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2013.
- History Argentina , Diego Abad de Santillán, TEA, Buenos Aires, 1965.