The above drawing is from
Heraldry: A Pictorial Archive for Artists & Designers
(Arthur Charles Fox-Davies)
[ Thanks to Guy H. Power for unearthing this one... ]
The lengthy blazon given below is quoted in James Parker's
Glossary
of Terms Used in Heraldry (under "sphere")
where it's attributed to "Sir John ROSS, C.B., Capt. R.N.",
the Arctic
explorer who was the
uncle and mentor of James Clark Ross.
James Clark Ross discovered the North
Magnetic Pole
on June 1st, 1831, during an expedition led by his uncle.
So, who made the heraldic claim to the discovery?
Gules, three estoiles in chevron between as many lions rampant Argent;
[for augmentation] a chief Or, thereon a portion of the terrestrial globe Proper,
the true meridian described thereon by a line passing from north to south Sable,
with the arctic circle Azure; within which the place of the magnetic pole
in latitude
70°5'17'', and longitude 96°46'45'', west,
designated by
an inescutcheon Gules, charged with a lion passant gardant of the First;
the magnetic meridian shewn by line of the Fourth passing through
the inescutcheon
with a correspondent circle, also Gules,
to denote more particularly the said place of the magnetic pole;
the words following inscribed on the chief, viz., "Arctæos Numine Fines".
Crest: Two helms.
Dexter: Over a downward pointing floating compass [?]
the Union Jack inscribed
"1st June 1831" fesswise.
Sinister: A fox's head erased proper [for "Ross"].
Motto: Spes Aspera Levat (hope lightens difficulties).
- The shield and crest augmentations could have been claimed by either the uncle or the nephew, because of the part each took in the celebrated discovery of the North Magnetic Pole, on June 1, 1831.
- On the Collins' Roll of Arms (c. 1295) ancestral Ross arms are already listed for William, Earl of Ross (conte de Ros) as "Gules, three lions rampant Argent". Apparently, the three additional estoiles were added later for a particular branch of the family. The complicated chief Or is clearly a personal augmentation, awarded to whichever Ross is laying heraldic claim on the discovery of the North Magnetic Pole.