The coat of arms of Guatemala comprises:
- A wreath of bay laurel branches, the symbol for victory;
- The Resplendent Quetzal, a bird that symbolizes liberty;
- A scroll on which is written LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (15 September 1821 is the date of Central America's independence from Spain);
- Two crossed Remington rifles with bayonets indicating Guatemala's willingness to defend itself by force if need be;
- Two crossed swords, representing honour.
The emblem was designed by Swiss artist and engraver Johan-Baptist Frener, who lived in Guatemala from 1854 until his death in 1897.
The coat of arms also appears on the flag of Guatemala. The quetzal previously appeared in the flag of Los Altos, Central America in the 1830s.
Famous quotes containing the words coat of, coat and/or arms:
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“We want some coat woven of elastic steel, stout as the first, and limber as the second. We want a ship in these billows we inhabit. An angular, dogmatic house would be rent to chips and splinters, in this storm of many elements. No, it must be tight, and fit to the form of man, to live at all; as a shell is the architecture of a house founded on the sea.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“It is Mortifying to suppose it possible that a people able and zealous to contend with the Enemy should be reduced to fold their Arms for want of the means of defence; yet no resources that we know of, ensure us against this event.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)