Coat of arms of Catalonia, XVI century. In marble.... Lot 38

Coat of arms of Catalonia, XVI century. In marble. Signed "M.Salas" on the side. Measures: 32 x 23 x 14 cm. Shield of Catalonia represented in relief in a block of marble. On the four bars, a scalloped vegetal line stands out. It is signed "M. Salas". It could come from the facade of a Catalan town hall. It is from the Renaissance period. Given that the configuration of Catalonia does not occur in its current form until the 15th century, a single heraldic symbol was not developed for the entire Catalan territory. In this territory, unlike others of the Crown of Aragon, the Catalan counties and their holders maintained a high degree of political presence, and whose heraldry has endured in the areas in which they extended, as in the case of the arms of the County of Urgel or Ampurias. The heraldry of the Crown granted the permissions so that some cities could bear in some field the four clubs of gules as well as institutions of the crown. This is the case of the Generality of Catalonia, which adopted the coat of arms of the monarch practically from the beginning. However, the cross of Saint George (in silver field, a cross of gules) also began to be used, as the Generality was gaining political weight, since this saint is highly venerated and patron saint of Aragon (and also of Catalonia). This symbol was initially used by the city of Barcelona in its coat of arms as a symbol of the city (which also combined with the arms of the king), and by extension would symbolize the County of Barcelona. Often the representation of the Catalan Generality was made by means of two separate coats of arms, one the royal and the other that of St. George (perhaps consistent with the pacitist doctrine of this governing body), as well as, later, combining them by means of cross quartering. Since this representation coincided with that of its capital city and main county, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries territorialized symbols appeared that represented this coat of arms as a symbol of Catalonia as a whole. Other arguments justify this coincidence with the attribution of this sign of the city of Barcelona in some maps and portolanos later reproduced without contrasting.