Brass Buckle with Swan & Cygnets? What Myth is Represented?

3 X 2 inches...3.25 ounces. I'm wondering what story is behind this image, and from what culture? Maybe not even a swan, for all I know about them. Stork, perhaps? I'm deeply in over my head with this. Any help will be appreciated, folks...thanks for lookin'!

 

It's a mother pelican and her chicks. A Catholic symbol of the Eucharist.

See here: https://thecatholicspirit.com/faith...can-with-chicks-is-a-symbol-of-the-eucharist/

 

A bell-ringer, Bakers...Perfect! Thanks a lot!

 

The laurel wreath also has symbolic meaning. The resurrection of Christ according to the internet.

Debora

 

Thanks, Debora...I'll include that, along with Bakers illumination, in my eBay listing.

My real gratitude to you both!

 

Whit-I thinks it's a repro of a Confederate Louisiana Civil War belt plate.

 

Set off looking for The Pelican in Her Piety & ran in to this, a version I have never seen before & more than you ever wanted to know:

https://www.theschooloftheology.org/posts/essay/symbols-the-pelican-in-her-piety

 

certainly not a Pelican Brief !!
hehehehehe......

 

That's a great page Bron-beautiful artwork/illustrations.Just to be Brief,before it was a US state,Louisiana bore the coat of arms of these countries- French Louisiana,New France & New Spain.
Before Louisiana became a state-it bore the seal of an eagle w/ laurel leafs.

 

Think pelican might be state bird now? But OP's buckle definitely looks to be copy of the Civil War one.

 

99.99% chance it's a replica.Depending on rarity level an original 1860-65 Confederate Belt Plate can be worth thousands.Most Reenactors will purchase good-quality reproductions instead of wearing a $2-$4000 original to a frenetic battle recreation.

 

Here's why the State Bird of Louisiana is a Pelican(sorry for the length)-
After the United States bought Louisiana in 1803, the land was named the Territory of Orleans. Pres. Jefferson appointed 28-yr-old William Claiborne governor, & the territory’s legislature authorized him to design an government seal.
Claiborne created a seal depicting an eagle w/a laurel wreath in its beak & 15 stars at the bottom representing the states of the Union.When Louisiana became a state in 1812, the seal was changed to a nested pelican ,plucking its breast to draw blood to feed its ten chicks (the Pelican’s head was originally shaped like an eagle, or a “condor” ).
Why Claiborne changed the seal from an eagle to a pelican is unclear, but it might have been a way to honor the state’s Catholic Heritage.
In ancient times, people believed the pelican would tear the flesh from its own body to feed its young in times of famine. Early Christians tapped into this common belief and began using the pelican as a symbol for Christ’s Sacrifice & Blood Atonement. As late as 1812, a Catholic prayer book used a pelican as a symbol of self-sacrifice,it looked identical to the one on Louisiana’s 1813 seal.

Today, pelicans can still be found in many churches. One is carved into the s. porch of the cathedral in Cornwall, England; another's in a stained glass window of the cathedral in Bourges, France; and a pelican can be found in the Anglican Church pulpit at Aldington in Kent, England.

The pelican was a familiar symbol to Catholics in the early 19th century, its use on the state seal would have made political sense considering Louisiana was the only predominantly Catholic state at the time. Although Louisiana’s Catholic population was familiar with the pelican’s symbolism, its use on the seal was a source of bemusement to others. When word of the seal was brought to Tennessee, the Nashville Banner declared, “The people of the new state have strange ideas.”
*The 'spurting blood' depiction disappeared from the seal for a time. Thanks to the research of Joseph Louviere, an 8th grade Houma,LA student, the state legislature passed a bill in 2006 to put the spurting blood back in the flag.

 

Have never heard of this whole story before (and it made me cry!). But it explains a reference in one of Louisa May Alcott's books to either Marmee or Meg as "the mother pelican."

I will now have to look that one up!

 

Louisiana is an amazing place.If you ever read any of Ann Rice's Vampire or Mayfair Witches books-it comes very much alive in N. Orleans Garden District,French Quarter,Royale St and of course the extremely spooky (and dangerous) graveyards.
NO's probably one of the most atmospheric cities we've ever experienced (Europe included).
Parts of New Mexico exude that ancient ethos-Spanish & Native American.St Augustine's old too but w/ a touch of the 'Margaritaville' vibe,during the night though-it's eerily different.