Coat of Arms, Russia, from the Military Series (N224) issued by Kinney Tobacco Company to promote Sweet Caporal Cigarettes 1888

This chromolithograph trading card titled "Coat of Arms, Russia" was produced by Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company, as part of the Military Series. The card features a complex arrangement of heraldic symbols. Dominating the composition is a golden-brown, horizontally elongated oval, against which the Russian coat of arms is centrally placed. This emblem, a double-headed eagle, is rendered in meticulous detail, surrounded by shields and various other symbolic elements. The formal structure operates on several levels. Semiotically, the combination of eagles, crowns, and flags functions as signifiers of power, authority, and national identity. The composition is neatly divided into thematic zones. The lower register grounds the emblem in commercial reality, whilst the heraldic symbols, float in a more abstract, idealized space. The artist juxtaposes different modes of representation, challenging the viewer to consider the relationship between art, commerce, and national identity.