Emblems and symbols of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences in the early period of its history

In the first decade of the history of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, there was a
search for the emblematic images that would symbolize its activities and serve as its
hallmark, both in Russia and in the international scientific arena. Several variants of
emblematic compositions were developed and used in various publications of the
Academy of Sciences. The first emblem with three sowers (1726) had a complicated
structure and failed to find recognition although some of its elements were borrowed in
later images. The composition of the emblem with a growing tree could be traced back to
the vignettes in the Paris Academy’s publications while the main image was original and
the motto was borrowed from Western European collections of emblems. The vignette
with the state eagle and the maps of two seas that symbolized scientific exploration of
Russia under the patronage of the monarch served as a decorative heading in the Academy’s works. Lastly, the image on the Academy’s seal with Pallas Athena occupying
the central place was officially approved in 1735. It was this image that became the
identification mark of both Russia’s Academy of Sciences and Russian science in the
XVIII century.