page_title: Flag and seal of Virginia
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Flag and seal of Virginia / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Seal of Virginia (1894), obverse and reverse
context_page_description: The Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the official seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state. The state flag of Virginia consists of the obverse of the seal against a blue background. A state flag was first adopted at the beginning of the American Civil War in April 1861, readopted in 1912, and standardized by the General Assembly in February 1950. The current version is the only U.S. state flag depicting nudity: the standing allegorical figure of virtue has an exposed breast in the manner of classical depictions of Amazons. She has just vanquished tyranny, who is symbolized by the fallen king. "So always tyrants," it means. The flag may be decorated with a white fringe along the fly edge; this is usually done when the flag is displayed indoors.
context_section_description: In May 1776 the Virginia colony declared its independence from Great Britain. On July 1, 1776, a committee of four was appointed to make a proper seal for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The four men were Richard Henry Lee, George Mason, George Wythe, and Robert Carter Nicholas Sr. Four days later the committee's report for a design of the seal was read, and George Mason presented it to the Virginia government. It was voted on and approved that same day. It is not known for certain which members of the committee were chiefly responsible for the design of the seal, but it is generally believed to be principally the work of George Wythe.
  The seal makers did not want a design which in any way resembled the style of coats-of-arms used in Great Britain. Because of the strong admiration for the Roman Republic felt by the Virginian leaders, the design of the new seal was taken from the mythology of Ancient Rome. They also chose a two-sided design, as shown above.
  By 1912, many variants of the seal had become propagated, leading to confusion as which was the actual seal. Thus, Virginia decided to standardize the design of the seal to avoid confusion.
caption: 1894 seal obverse and reverse
exif: {}