Coat of Arms of the Ionian State?

A colour photocopy from a book provided by the Hon. Jim Samios, former Deputy Liberal leader in the Legislative Council, the Upper House in the Parliament of New South Wales.

It depicts the two flags of the Ionian State. These have been been depicted elswhere on the site, and their history explained in some detail. [See early entries in this Documents section. Alternatively, use the internal search engine to search under Flag].

Of interest here is the Coat of Arms that serves as the base for the two flags.

Is this a piece of artistic license or was a Coat of Arms adopted - with the United Kingdom Arms at the centre - and symbols for each of the 7 Ionian Islands bordering the UK Arms on the periphery?

Two senior members of Heraldry Australia, Stephen Szabo and Richard Num, have suggested another possibility. That the "flag base" is the official Great Seal of the Ionian Parliament(?)

"...for use by the Governor during the period of British rule.

Perhaps the design represents one side of that Great Seal"?

You will note that the symbol for Kythera is Aphrodite arising from the ocean.