Design Your Own Griffin Crest Plaque | Custom Shield, Surname & Motto | Antique Brass Wall Sign

The Plaque

A shield inside a heavy scrolled frame, with a winged griffin standing above it and a fleur-de-lis on the shield itself. The name runs across the lower edge and the motto sits under it in a written hand.

The griffin sits above the shield rather than on it. That is where a crest belongs, and it is the part most modern versions leave out.

The design on the plate is whatever you send us. The one described above is one we made.

Craftsmanship

Grown in real copper and brass over a sculpted form. The detail sits at more than one height, 2 to 5 mm off the ground, so the face is modeled rather than flat, and the plate is 8 to 10 mm thick and solid through.

How it reads

The name is the largest thing on the plate, the motto sits under it, and the year is smaller again at the foot. Raised brass over a ground left dark reads as contrast rather than as shape, and contrast is what carries in flat light.

Built for outside

Sealed under a UV-protective finish once the patina is on. Sun, rain and frost leave the color where it is, and there is no steel in the body to rust and streak the wall.

Personalization

Send us the crest you want and we make the plate from it: a pencil drawing on plain paper, a printed coat of arms, or a photograph of one. Whatever is in your drawing — shields, animals, foliage, banners — is modeled at the size the plate allows.

Four lines go with it, and only the name is needed: one letter at the centre, the family or house name up to fourteen characters, a motto up to twenty-four, and a short established line. A design preview comes back by email before anything is made. By sending us artwork you confirm it is yours to use.

Specifications

• Material: electroformed copper and brass over a solid sculpted core
• Finish: raised antique brass on a blackened ground
• Thickness: 0.3 to 0.4 in (8 to 10 mm), solid through
• Relief: raised detail stands 0.1 to 0.2 in (2 to 5 mm) proud of the ground, at more than one height across the design
• Shape: scroll-framed shield with a griffin crest and a fleur-de-lis charge
• Design: modeled from the crest you send us
• Sizes: eleven, from 6 x 4 to 10 x 10 inches, height x width
• UV-protected and weather-treated for outdoor use
• Made to order in our own workshop

The frame eats into the field, so a name and motto want 8 x 8. 10 x 8 if the motto runs to more than about eighteen characters.

Mounting

Three ways, chosen at checkout.

• Keyhole slots: two screws into the wall, and it lifts off if you ever repaint behind it.
• Peel-and-stick tape: sealed strips already applied to the back. No drilling, which suits render, tile or a rented house. Needs a smooth, clean, dry surface.
• Floating stud mount: threaded studs on reinforced bosses that hold the plate clear of the wall. Best on brick, stone and shingle, where a flush fixing never sits true.

Hardware and instructions are included with all three.

Where it works

A gatepost, a porch, a stair wall inside. The written motto makes it read as a family plate rather than an address.

Care

Wipe clean. Avoid harsh cleaners.