In our data there are many pictures showing coat of arms etc. which we fortunatly can link to noble or civil families. It would be great if we could identify them via Iconclass.
If we are confronted with some heraldic depictions, we use 46A122 or its subnotations.
At the moment, there is no preset list of family NAMES included in Iconclass. You can pick a default string which works as a placeholder within the Iconclass Browser retrieval.
Example: Linked Data API : Corpus Vitrearum Deutschland
Perhaps we could start a list of families and pick an Iconclass Identifier 46A122(NAME) for them? We could see which families were already enriched with Iconclass notations. Using the same identifiers would prepare fine Linked Data retrievals.
It may be wise to have a look at Wikidata, VIAF etc. to pick plain NAMES. Similar to the Saints’ topic in this forum it would be of relevance, too creating a direct connection between such databases and the individual Iconclass notation (e.g. the Wikidata Q-Number as an Iconclass Keyword).
Another possibility is to us direct links to Wikidata etc. in our project’s database to gain machine-readable statements. But as Iconclass is a classification system for visual concepts, it would make a perfect home for heraldic iconography. Giving persistent identifiers for several coat of arms might be only the first step, further on statements about their usual apperance might follow.
brilliant idea - as usual the devil will be in the details.
For example: many families have been identified in objects to which the notation 46A122 has been tagged. But quite often those NAMES were not entered in the Iconclass notation, so the situation is slightly different from that of identified saints.
But that should not deter us. On the contrary. Let us indeed set up a shared entry sheet.
I have added a wikidata Q number for all saints that were part of the “core” Iconclass system. Often the wikidata page will already contain a VIAF ID.
Perhaps we should set up a test set with examples from different databases. We have over 8,000 hits for 46A122 in Arkyves, pointing to armorials and devices. Needless to say that some data cleaning will be required.
Perhaps an additional step forward in heraldic information provision could then also come from pattern recognition software …
Hello Hans and Cvitrea,
I’m late joining this forum, but am intrigued by this area of research. In my digital humanities project BAPTISTERIA SACRA INDEX we currently have students analyzing the heraldic motifs and assigning Iconclass codes to the family names. If it is not too late, I would be happy to assist with adding families’ coat of arms that we have identified on baptismal fonts. Harriet
thanks for joining. It might be a good idea to link this topic to the broader topic of names of entities (like persons) that are too numerous to include them as controlled name entities in the core system of Iconclass.
Etienne has made a useful suggestion in this topic
Perhaps we should organize a meeting with members of the user community who are confronted with this problem?