Appendix No. 3 to the Constitution of Charles University Insignia

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1. Seal of Prague University (deposited in the archives of Charles University)

The seal of Prague University was created at the very beginning of higher education in Prague. The seal is a representation of the kneeling Czech and Roman King who is passing, with both hands, a folded charter with a suspended seal to St. Wenceslas. On the right side of these two figures is the coat of arms of the Roman King, on the left side the coat of arms of the Czech King, and under the banner which displays the sign of St. Wenceslas’ eagle there is the letter W (Wenceslaus). The transcript of the silver seal in astragal in Gothic majuscule:


“SIGILLUM UNIVERSITATIS SCOLARIUM STUDII PRAGENSIS”


The seal itself is a silver tablet 60.5 mm in diameter and 1.5 mm thick attached by a 1-2mm thick lead base to a circular steel tablet 8.5 to 9 mm thick that merges into an octagonal and at the top quadrangular tenon with slanted edges. Together with this tenon, which was created much later, the total height of the seal is 84.5 mm.



2. Rector’s Sceptre

The Rector’s sceptre was created by Prague goldsmith Jan Tengler based on a design by the painter Bedřich Wachsmann after 1882. The crown of the sceptre consists of a ball (the symbol of the universe) and a cross with a cut amethyst in the centre. The head of gilded silver is set with sixteen Czech garnets. Around the stem in the cartouches there are four oval enamel coats of arms: the Czech lion, the Silesian eagle, the Moravian eagle, and the coat of arms of the University from the seal. The total height of the sceptre is 131 cm.



3. Sceptre of the Catholic Theological Faculty

The sceptre was created by Jan Tengler in 1891. The head of the sceptre of the Catholic Theological Faculty has on its crown the allegory of Faith represented by a silver statuette of a woman holding a cross in her right hand and a book in her left hand. The head is decorated with Czech garnets. There are three enamel escutcheons with symbols in the cartouches: a cross, Noah’s Ark, and a pelican feeding his young with his own blood (a symbol of the Eucharist). The total height of the sceptre is 122 cm.



4. Sceptre of the Hussite Theological Faculty

The sceptre of the Hussite Theological Faculty, created based on a design by J. Lášek and M. Dandár, has a crown in the shape of four acanthus leaves supporting a paten with an erected cross. On the receptacle of the flower is engraved “UNIVERSITAS CAROLINA PRAGENSIS + FACULTAS THEOLOGIAE HUSSITICAE 1990”. There is a liturgical chalice in the centre with engraved portraits of Sts. Cyril and Methodus, St. Wenceslas, St. Procopius, and Master John Huss. The head is on a Bishop’s crosier composed of three parts. The sceptre is made of stainless metal and is gilded all over. The total height of the sceptre is 113.5 cm.



5. Sceptre of the Faculty of Law

The sceptre was created by Jan Tengler after 1882. The head of the sceptre of the Faculty of Law has on its crown the symbols of law: crossed fasces with a sword in the middle. Below them, on the face of the head there is a shield with the scales of Justice. The total height of the sceptre is 117 cm.



6. Sceptre of the Faculties of Medicine

The sceptre was created by Jan Tengler after 1882. The head of the sceptre of the Faculties of Medicine has a crown consisting of a silver wreath set with sixty-six blue turquoises. Inside the wreath there is an emblem of medicine: Aesculapius´ club and a serpent drinking from a bowl. Double acanthus leaves under the wreath are decorated with twenty-three small Czech garnets; the ringlet rimming the stem of the sceptre also features garnets. The total height of the sceptre is 123 cm.



7. Sceptre of the Faculty of Pharmacy

The sceptre was created by Jozef Soukup between 1982 and 1983. The lower part of the head of the Faculty of Pharmacy sceptre consists of two round intaglios in crystal, on the face of one there is a picture of the University seal, and on the other one the emblem of Hradec Králové, the seat of the Faculty. Around the perimeter of a horizontal disc above there is an inscription: “FACULTAS PHARMACEUTICA UNIVERSITATIS CAROLINAE PRAGENSIS”. On a conic pillar above the disc there is a crown in the form of hexagon decorated with five heliotropes from Kozákov. Inside the hexagon there is a ball of Brazilian crystal with an engraved symbol of pharmacy. The total height of the sceptre is 137 cm.




8. Sceptre of the Faculty of Arts

The sceptre was created by Jan Tengler after 1882. In the middle of the head of the sceptre of the Faculty of Arts there is an owl standing on a ball as a symbol of Wisdom, and in the crown there is a symbol of the Sun - the light of knowledge and truth. The silver sceptre was restored in 1976 and newly gilded. Its total height is 116 cm.



9. Sceptre of the Faculty of Science

This art-nouveau sceptre of the Faculty of Science was created by Prague goldsmith Alois Tengler in 1926. The front side of the head of the sceptre represents a sitting figure of Nature leaning against the globe. The figure has four books and an alembic at her feet, and binoculars behind her. In the background there is a panoramic view of Hradčany; around –on the perimeter of a dodecagonal head – there are six signs of the Zodiac cut in crystal. The plates for the signs continue on the reverse side of the head and are covered with lazurites. The central motif on the reverse side of the head is a relief of an owl standing on a book. In the crown there are two kneeling persons - nudes of a man and a woman. The golden sun is rising between them; above their heads in the middle there is a child creating an autonomous apex of the sceptre. It is abundantly set with amethysts, chalcedonies, and carneols on the stem, garnets and citrines in the central part, and amethysts, agates, and lazurites on the crown. The total height of the sceptre is 115.7 cm.



10. Sceptre of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics

The sceptre was designed by Zdeněk Kolářský in 1979. The head of the sceptre consists of geometric shapes made of metal rods with a ball, and orbiting planets in the centre. In the crown, above stylised flames there is a Mobius strip symbolising never-ending knowledge in mathematics and physics. The stem of the sceptre is ended with a disc set with fifteen rubies and a little plate with the seal of Charles University; on escutcheons in the lower part of the head there are symbols of the fields of study at the faculty. The entire head is set with fifty-six rubies and four avanturine cabochons. The total height of the sceptre is 123.5 cm.



11. Sceptre of the Faculty of Education

The sceptre of the Faculty of Education was created by Prague goldsmith Heinrich Grünfeld in the 1920’s, originally for the Faculty of Science of the German University. Above the ringlet of the head of the sceptre the bodies of four dolphins project, creating the basis of the crown, with twelve little moons, on which there is a book serving as a base for a sitting owl. The ringlet of the crown, decorated with mascarons, has eight topazes on the sides. The total height of the sceptre is 114 cm.



12. Sceptre of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport

The sceptre of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport was designed by sculptor H. Novák and manufactured by national enterprise SAFINA. The sceptre was originally manufactured for the Institute of Physical Education and Sport which was integrated in Charles University in 1959. The head and the crown of the sceptre consists of a statuette of an athlete – victor with raised right hand and a palm of victory in his left hand. It is signed “Sign. H. N. 54 of 1954”. The total height of the sceptre is 117 cm.



13. Sceptre of the Faculty of Humanities

The sceptre of the Faculty of Humanities was designed by Václav Sokol. The sceptre is made of wood with metal elements. The stem of the sceptre is made of polished dark brown plum wood and is lightly profiled on four sides with rounded edges over the whole length. The head is carved of one piece of waxed linden wood in a natural colour and represents a pair of hands lightly touching an apple embellished with a stem and leaf made of gilded brass. The sceptre stem is connected to the head by a 5.4 cm wide “ring” made of gilded brass. The total height of the sceptre is 103.5 cm.


14. Sceptre of the Faculty of Social Sciences


The sceptre of the Faculty of Social Sciences was created by Otmar Oliva in 2017 based on an ideational design by Martin Potůček. The head of the sceptre represents human society as a globe held by the tips of fingers of a human hand. The five fingers symbolise the five branches pursued at the faculty, and the hand represents the ability of all social sciences to view society as a whole from a variety perspectives. The sceptre is made of silver-plated aluminium and gilded bronze and is set with small gemstones and one large lapis lazuli of 8 cm in diameter in the head of the sceptre. The total height of the sceptre is 135 cm.

15. Rector’s Medal

The creator of the medal is Otakar Španiel. The chain containing twenty-five rings of double rove knots was created by Prague goldsmith František Staněk. On the face there is a design of the seal matrix of the oldest seal – the coat of arms of Charles University with the transcription: “RECTOR MAGNIFICUS UNIVERSITATIS CAROLINAE PRAGENSIS”. On the reverse side there is a trefoil (the symbol of Prague Castle construction works from the mid-14th century); inside there is the crown of the old Rector’s sceptre (a cross standing on a ball); and on the sides “AD 1348 – 1948”. In the little spaces between the trefoil and the transcript there are abbreviations of the Latin salutation formula: “Q.F / F.F / Q.S” (Quod felix, faustum, fortunatumque sit. May it bring happiness, prosperity, and joy.). The transcript on the reverse side “UNIVERSITĚ KARLOVĚ ČESKÉ VYSOKÉ UČENÍ TECHNICKÉ” (To Charles University from the Czech Technical University) reminds us that the medal was donated to Charles University by ČVUT in 1948. The medal is coined of gold and is 70 mm in diameter.



16. Medals of Academic Officials

The medal was created by Jiří Prádler in 1959. On the face there is a design of the matrix of the old seal – the coat of arms of Charles University with the transcription: “UNIVERSITAS CAROLINAE PRAGENSIS + mcccxlviii +”. On the reverse side in four-arch there is the Czechoslovak national emblem from the period before 1960. Along the rim there are symbols of the Faculties of Medicine, Science, Law, and the Arts. The diameter of the medal of gilded silver is 50 mm. Charles University owns sixteen medals like this suspended on chains.


17. Medal of the Dean of the Catholic Theological Faculty

The medal was designed by Otakar Španiel and was created in 1950 when the Theological Faculty was expelled from Charles University. The medal has on its face a design of the seal matrix of the oldest seal – the coat of arms of Charles University in the same form as on the Rector’s medal. On the reverse side in the centre there are abbreviations of the Latin salutation formula: “Q.F.F.F.S.” (Quod felix, faustum, fortunatumque sit.). There is the transcription “ROMANA CATHOLICA FACULTAS S. THEOLOGIAE CYRILLO METHODIANA PRAGENSIS”. The diameter of the medal of gilded silver is 60 mm.


18. Medal of the Dean of the Protestant Theological Faculty

The medal was made after 1950, when the name of Komenský (Comenius) was given to the Protestant Section of Theology of the former Huss Czechoslovak Protestant Faculty established in 1919 outside Charles University. The medal has on its face a portrait of J. A. Komenský (Comenius). The transcription: “KOMENSKÉHO EVANGELICKÁ BOHOSLOVECKÁ FAKULTA x V PRAZE x” (Comenius Protestant Theological Faculty x in Prague x). On the reverse side there is a chalice in a wreath of grapes, leaves, tendrils, and ears of corn. An inscription above is “SAPERE AGERE LOQUI 1919”. On the left of the chalice is “LEV.2.13” (a verse from the Old Testament book of Leviticus on the order of cereal offerings), on the right side “MAR.9.49” (a reference to the gospel according to Mark, the verse “Every one will be salted with fire”), and the transcription “VICIT AGNUS NOSTER x EUM SEQUAMUR”. The diameter of the medal is 80 mm.


19. Medal of the Dean of the Hussite Theological Faculty

The medal was made in 1950, when the Section of Czechoslovak (Hussite) Theology was separated from the former Huss Czechoslovak Protestant Faculty. It was designed by J. Novák. The medal has on its face the symbol of a cross and chalice (the ideograph of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church (CČSH)), and at the bottom a ribbon with the inscription “DOKONČIT ČESKOU REFORMACI” (Complete Czech Reformation, a quotation from a speech of Prof. K. Statečný given at the 1st synod of the CČSH in 1924). On the reverse side there is an idealized portrait of Master John Huss and the transcription “HUSOVA ČESKOSLOVENSKÁ BOHOSLOVECKÁ FAKULTA V PRAZE 1950” (Huss Czechoslovak Theological Faculty in Prague). The diameter of the medal of gilded silver is 60 mm. The rings of the chain represent stylised leaves of linden.




Last change: August 1, 2018 12:31 
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