Jul

Fasces Symbols of “LIBERTY” Abound in District of Columbia Sculpture, Architecture and Coinage

Hermon MacNeil included 2 Fasces

in his design for the

East Pediment

MacNeil – Supreme Court

The 2 Fasces of the East Pediment. On Left in yellow circle: Man with traditional fascis. On Right in green circle: Woman with a grain sheath Fascis.

Additional Examples of

FASCES in Washington, D.C. Capitol Area:

Two fasces appear on either side of the flag of the United States behind the podium in the United States House of Representatives, with bronze examples replacing the previous gilded iron installments during the remodeling project of 1950.^[9]

Podium of the

U. S. House of Representatives:

Podium of the U. S. House of Representatives

These 2 large Bronze fasces frame both sides of the Flag of the United States behind the podium in the United States House of Representatives. These larger-than-life bronze examples replaced the previous gilded iron installments during the remodeling project of 1950.^[9]

Lincoln Memorial:

Daniel Chester Frenches tribute to

Lincoln’s Preservation of the Union

Seated In the marble throne supported by two Roman fasces symbols, Daniel Chester French’s “Lincoln” gazes contemplatively over the “preserved Union.”

At the Lincoln Memorial, Lincoln’s seat of state bears the fasces—without axes—on the fronts of its arms; fasces also appear on the pylons flanking the main staircase leading into the memorial.

Mercury Dime — Winged Liberty (reverse)

Fasces from the reverse of the Liberty (Winged Mercury) Dime minted from 1916 to 1945.

Another sculptor and colleague of Hermon MacNeil, Adolph Weinman, used a fasces motif in his coin design. The reverse of the Mercury Dime, the design [used until the adoption of the current FDR dime in 1945], features a fasces on the reverse side (tails).

“The Mercury dime is a ten-cent coin struck by the United States Mint from late 1916 to 1945. Designed by Adolph Weinman and also referred to as the Winged Liberty Head dime, it gained its common name because the obverse depiction of a young Liberty, identifiable by her winged Phrygian cap, was confused with the Roman god Mercury..

Other Uses of the “Fasces” in Art and Insignia.

Statue of Freedom Fasces ring the base of the Statue of Freedom atop the United States Capitol building
A frieze on the facade of the United States Supreme Court building depicts the figure of a Roman centurion holding a fasces, to represent “order”^[10]
The National Guard uses the fasces on the seal of the National Guard Bureau, and it appears in the insignia of Regular Army officers assigned to National Guard liaison and in the insignia and unit symbols of National Guard units themselves; for instance, the regimental crest of the 71st Infantry Regiment (New York) of the New York National Guard consisted of a gold fasces set on a blue background
The official seal of the United States Tax Court bears the fasces at its center
Four fasces flank the two bronze plaques on either side of the bust of Lincoln memorializing his Gettysburg Address at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
The seal of the United States Courts Administrative Office includes a fasces behind crossed quill and scroll
In the Washington Monument, there is a statue of George Washington leaning on a fasces
A fasces is a common element in US Army Military Police heraldry, most visibly on the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 18th Military Police Brigade and the 42nd Military Police Brigade
A fasces also appears shoulder sleeve insignia of the US Army Reserve Legal Command
Seated beside George Washington, a figure holds a fasces as part of The Apotheosis of Washington, a fresco mural suspended above the rotunda of the United States Capitol Building.
On the podium of the Emancipation Memorial in Washington D.C., beneath Abraham Lincoln‘s right hand. See Also: Capitol Hill Parks , National Capital Parks-East
On the obverse of the 1896 $1 Educational Series note there is a fasces leaning against the wall behind the youth.
In the Oval Office, above the door leading to the exterior walkway, and above the corresponding door on the opposite wall, which leads to the president’s private office; note: the fasces depicted have no axes, possibly because in the Roman Republic, the blade was always removed from the bundle whenever the fasces were carried inside the city, in order to symbolize the rights of citizens against arbitrary state power (see above).