Black Rod 1350 by royal letters patent, though the current title dates from 1522. The position was adopted by other members of the Commonwealth when they adopted the British Westminster system. The title is derived from the staff of office, an ebony staff topped with a golden lion, which is the main symbol of the office's authority. A ceremonial rod or staff is a common type of symbol indicating the authority of the office-holder. Depictions of ancient authority figures in many cultures include such a rod (alternatively called a sceptre). Another early example was the fasces (literally a bound bundle of rods)
Imperial Cabinet of the Russian Empire in bonds of an internal military loan. During the reign of Alexander I, his office was occupied by the Anichkov Palace at the corner of Nevsky Prospect and Fontanka. His ceremonial courtyard (Nevsky Prospect, 39) was built up in 1803–09 by two buildings of the mall, which was designed in the style of mature classicism by Giacomo Quarenghi. These two low 2-storey buildings were expanded in 1811 by an extension from the courtyard and transferred to the full authority of the Imperial Cabinet. Until 1885, the facades of a building with columns of a "giant" Ionic order penetrated wide arcades,