The Seal of Cape Town depicts the official coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 of the municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 of Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

. These arms are no longer in official use, and no new arms have yet been adopted. In consequence, the Flag of Cape Town

Flag of Cape Town

The flag of Cape Town is the official flag of the city of Cape Town, South Africa.The current flag replaced the previous flag in 1996...

 has now been adopted as the main symbol used by the municipality.

The original seal, depicting the arms of the city's founder, Jan van Riebeeck, supported by an anchor symbolising the Cape of Good Hope, was granted to the city by the Commissioner-General of the Batavian Republic in June 1804. In 1894, the municipal council placed the Van Riebeeck arms and anchor on a golden shield, and in 1898 it adopted a crest consisting of a mural crown ensigned of an anchor.

In December 1899, the College of Arms

College of Arms

The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 issued Letters Patent

Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

 which confirmed these arms, modified the crest, and added supporters. This achievement of arms, together with the new seal depicting them, was registered with the Cape Provincial Administration in 1956, and with the Bureau of Heraldry

Bureau of Heraldry (South Africa)

The Bureau of Heraldry is the South African heraldic authority, established in Pretoria on 1 June 1963. It is headed by a National Herald and its functions are to register arms, badges, flags and seals , to keep a public register, to issue registration certificates and, since 1980, to advise the...

 on 16 January 1972.

In heraldic terms

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

 the coat of arms is described as follows:

• Arms: Or, an anchor erect Sable, stock proper, from the ring a riband flowing Azure and suspended therefrom an escutcheon Gules charged with three annulets Or.
• Crest: On the battlements of a tower proper, a trident in bend Or, surmounted by an anchor and cable in bend sinister, Sable.
• Wreath and mantling: Or and Sable.
• Supporters: On a compartment below the shield consisting of rocky mounds, dexter, a female figure proper vested Argent, mantle and sandals Azure, on her head an estoile irradiated Or, supporting with her dexter hand an anchor proper; sinister, a lion rampant guardant Gules.
• Motta: Spes Bona (Good Hope).

See also

• South African heraldry
  South African heraldry
  South African heraldry reaches back for more than 350 years, inheriting European heraldic traditions. Arms are borne by individuals, official bodies, local authorities, military units, and by a wide variety of organisations...
  
  
• South African Heraldry Website