Designs of this sort for emblems and coats of arms also served as a kind of calling card for the artist himself.
As a title used exclusively by rulers, the glyphs render the particular "emblem" believed to be the reference name of a political entity.
In this specific musical sense it is a historical emblem of the missions.
Like these, stamps showed the emblem of the lion and the sun and/or the portrait of the reigning monarch.
In emblem books, abstract concepts are personified by a person, typically a woman, whose costume and attributes are explained in an accompanying text.
This suggests less competition for prestige within the society and among the different political units addressed by emblem glyphs.
Furthermore, the mostly fruitless attempts to identify emblem glyphs have been made more difficult by fewer and less well-understood hieroglyphic texts.
These symbols functioned as emblems of the sources of power for the shaman who earned the right to wear them.
