The National Seal of Brazil () is one of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

's national symbols, displayed on several official documents, such as graduation diplomas, consular and diplomatic papers, military conscription forms, etc. The Seal does not commonly appear on most documents, and the

National Coat of Arms A national coat of arms is a symbol which denotes an independent state in the form of a heraldic achievement. While a national flag is usually used by the population at large and is flown outside and on ships, a national coat of arms is normally co ...

is usually seen instead.

History

Imperial period

The use of

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

in official documents derives from the Imperial period, in which the stamp in relief stamp in the shape of the imperial

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was used. This was packed in a wrapper and commonly made with sayings in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

or in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

about the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, for example: ''“Pedro II, Constitutional Emperor of Brazil”'' or ''“Pedro II, Perpetual Defender of Brazil”''. The seal of the Imperial era was created by the ministerial notice signed by

Luís Pereira da Nóbrega de Sousa Coutinho Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

on October 24, 1822.CORREIA FILHO, Jonas de Moraes. Símbolos Nacionais na Independência. io de janeiro Edição do autor, 1994. Pág. 50 (in portuguese)

Republic

The design of the National Seal is also represented on the reverse side of the ''Great Seal of the Arms of the Federative Republic of Brazil'' (that bears the image of the country's coat of arms on the obverse side), and is used by the Presidency of the Republic to authenticate solemn documents together with the President's signature, such as instruments of ratification of international treaties. The wax or printed impression of the National Seal is also used to authenticate the original version of Laws promulgated by the

President of Brazil The president of Brazil (), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil () or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head of government of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the ...

. The National Seal, together with the nation's

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

and

, is officially recognised as a national symbol since the Brazilian Republic was formed; its appearance and design is regulated by law.

References

National symbols of Brazil National seals {{Brazil-gov-stub