Of The Seals, That For The Dominion Is, Of Coarse, The Largest.
It
represents the Queen seated under a Gothic canopy and holding the ball and
sceptre, while the wings of the canopy contain the shields of the
Provinces - two on either side - hanging on the stem of an oak.
These Gothic
canopies occupy nearly the whole of the middle space of the seal, the
ground between them and the border is covered with a rich diaper, and a
shield bearing the Royal Arms of England fills the space beneath the
centre canopy. The border of the seal bears the inscription, "Victoria,
Dei Gratia, Britanniae Regina, F. D. In Canada Sigillum." This work would
add to the reputation of any other seal engraver, though it can hardly do
so to that of the Messrs Wyon, whose productions have long enjoyed a high
and deserved celebrity. The seal is well filled, as it should be in a
Gothic design, but it is not crowded, the ornaments are all very pure in
style, and the whole is in the most perfect keeping. The execution is not
less remarkable, the relief is extremely high in parts (although it does
not at first appear to be so, owing to the breadth of the composition),
but, in spite of this difficulty, the truth, sharpness, and finish of
every part have been preserved as well as they could possibly be on a
medal, or even on a coin. The smaller seals for the provinces are engraved
on one general design. The crown surmounts a central shield bearing the
Royal Arms, below which is a smaller shield bearing the arms of the
particular province - New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, or Nova Scotia. The
Royal motto on a flowing ribbon fills up the space at the sides; a border
adapted to the outline of the design runs outside this, and touches the
circular border of the seal containing the legend. These seals are no less
remarkable for carefulness of execution than the one to which we have
referred. The medal which has been struck to commemorate the confederation
of the provinces is in solid gold, and is so large and massive that its
value in metal alone is L50. On the obverse there is a head of the Queen,
for which Her Majesty recently gave Mr. Wyon sittings; the reverse bears
an allegorical design - Britannia seated and holding the scroll of
confederation, with figures representing the four provinces grouped around
her. Ontario holds the sheaf and sickle; Quebec, the paddle; Nova Scotia,
the mining spade; and New Brunswick the forest axe. Britannia carries her
trident and the lion crouches by her side. The following inscription runs
round a raised border: "Juventas et Patrius Vigor Canada Instaurata 1867."
The relief on this side is extremely bold, and the composition, modelling
and finish are such as to leave little to be desired. The treatment of the
head on the obverse is broad and simple; the hair is hidden by a sort of
hood of flowing drapery confined by a plain coronet, and the surface is
but little broken anywhere.
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Words from 190529 to 191046
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