The noble coat of arms on the man's portrait in the collection of the Lviv History Museum

There are 43 noble portraits with the coat of arms of 17th – the beginning of 20th century in Lviv Historical Museum’s collection. The images of noble emblems at the portraits were motivated by the desire to show a person’s belonging to a particular armorial or family community. An appeal to the history of its family wasn’t random, as the nobleman thus emphasized that by his activities he contributed to the enhancement of the glory and prestige of his ancestors. Typically only wealthy nobles, magnates, and those who were involved in military area or at the public services were pictured at the portraits.

The analyzed material complex made it possible to distinguish certain features of noble coat of arms image at the portrait. Usually the armorial shield doesn’t have clear shapes but has stylized floral or other designs, which is a manifestation of Baroque art. Despite the fact that coats of arms tradition of the 17th century has already been established, a number of coats of arms shown at the noble portraits of Lviv Historical Museum’s collection have its own features. In the coat of arms there were frequently used initials that symbolized not only the name of the emblem’s carrier, but also the government positions, titles and proprietary names owned by that person. It was the social capital that should be demonstrated to others in order to emphasize on their social status. This once again confirms the fact that in the Commonwealth where the idea of noble equality was formally proclaimed and promoted, the titles of nobility, with the few exceptions, and the possession of a government post was the sign of prestige or the way to stand out from the nobility overall. In some cases, the artists tried to add certain signs to the coat of arms that could highlight the occupation of emblem’s owner. If the person was involved in military affairs – the artist could add to the emblem some military attributes, and when the person served in the Church it could be reflected by adding symbols that clearly point out the nature of person’s activities. These special features primarily were designed to emphasize the individual traits and achievements of the coat of arms’ owner.