The Seal of the City of Los Angeles is, since 1905, the official seal of the City of Los Angeles, a city located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. The

escutcheon Escutcheon may refer to: * Escutcheon (heraldry), a shield or shield-shaped emblem, displaying a coat of arms * Escutcheon (furniture), a metal plate that surrounds a keyhole or lock cylinder on a door * (in medicine) the distribution of pubic ha ...

is encircled by the legal name of the city (City of Los Angeles) and year founded (1781). It was adopted on March 27, 1905, via Ordinance 10,834.

Symbolism

The heraldic blazon of the coat of arms, as declared in the 1905 ordinance, is: Inside the ribbon, flanking the escutcheon, are grapes,

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

s, and oranges, major crops of California, on their plants. These are also symbolized in the colors of the flag of Los Angeles. The fruit are on a field or, bordered with a 77-bead

rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

, which presents Spanish missions in California. The arms are quarterly: * 1st quarter: the lesser coat of arms of the United States. A field paleways of thirteen pieces argent and

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

; chief,

azure Azure may refer to: Colour * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 ...

charged with thirteen five rays argent. * 2nd quarter: the flag of the California Republic (1846) A field argent with a

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

gules at bay, five rays gules, and fess base gules, sans text and ground. * 3rd quarter: the coat of arms of Mexico (1823-1864). An eagle displayed reguardant and biting a serpent, symbolizing

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

rule Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule perta ...

from 1822 until 1846. * 4th quarter: the lesser coat of arms of Spain (1785-1873). The coats of arms of Castile and León, symbolizing Spanish

from 1542 until 1821.

References

The City Seal of Los Angeles
at the University of Dayton
The Forgotten Legacy of Los Angeles, the “City of Vines”
at the California Historical Society
Understanding The Los Angeles City Seal
at '' Los Angeles Times''

External links

Symbolism

See also

References

External links