Antiquary & Expert CNES

Superb polychrome carved and gilded armorial panel, dating from the end of the 17th century.
This rare piece illustrates the alliance between Baroque sculpture and heraldic symbolism.

The coat of arms is divided into two parts:

• Left : red background (gules) decorated with stars and a chariot, symbol of movement and power.
• Right : Royal figure, crowned, dressed in red, on a silver field with red pales.
  Above, a banner bears the motto "Moderata Durant" .

The whole is surrounded by a baroque frame in carved and gilded wood , with scrolls and volutes. Despite wear and chips, the original polychromy remains clearly legible and gives the whole a great authenticity.

The motto “Moderata Durant”

This Latin motto means "Moderate things last." It is known to have been worn:

• by the Soyécourt family , ancient nobility of Santerre (Picardy), whose coat of arms is “silver fretted gules”.
• by Hugues des Hazards , Bishop Count of Toul in the 16th century, who interpreted it as "What is ordered and measured is destined to last."

Thus, the motto combines political and family stability (nobility) with a spiritual and moral dimension (Church).

Such heraldic panels often adorned:

private chapels or religious buildings,

private mansions, state rooms of noble institutions.

They recalled both the prestige of the lineages and the values ​​they intended to transmit.

This baroque coat of arms is a decorative and historical piece of great rarity. At the crossroads of the noble and religious worlds, it embodies the symbolic force of heraldry in the 17th century.