After Finland had been ceded to Russia (as a consequence of the Swedish–Russian war of 1808–1809), Elias Brenner's version of the lion was chosen by the authorities as the model for the new coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Finland in the Russian Empire. The blazon in the decree of 26 October 1809 states: "The shield has a red field, strewn with roses of silver, on which a golden lion with a crown of gold, standing on a silver saber, which it grasps with the left forepaw while holding in the right forepaw an upright sword". Obviously, any interpretation of the lion as "trampling on a Russian sabre" had been lost at this point in time.