Nancy Pelosi Went Dark for the House Debates. Her Pin Shined.

“I solemnly and sadly open the debate on the impeachment of the president of the United States.”

So said Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, on Wednesday morning as she stood in the cavernous chamber of the House of Representatives in a lapelless black suit, almost military in design, with a high neck. Its somber color was a reflection of the darkness of the day and the conscious choice for a woman fluent in the communicative uses of color. Atop it, a dagger-like gold pin shone out over her heart like a beacon.

But what was it?

Immediately the watching public began to wonder. After all, it was impossible to miss, standing out not just against her suit, but amid the sea of little congressional buttons and American flags worn by Ms. Pelosi’s colleagues. (In politics, a pin is never just a pin — at least not since Madeleine Albright published a book on her brooch diplomacy.) Clearly it was no mere decoration.

Indeed not. It is her power pin.

Literally (and also possibly metaphorically), it is a symbol of the office she holds.

And though there was some confusion in the watching public over what, exactly, it was, with some speculating on social media that it represented the Caduceus pin, or a medical symbol, and others comparing it to the Hand of the King from “Game of Thrones,” the pin actually represents the Mace of the United States House of Representatives: the long, blunt battle staff that has embodied the legislative branch’s authority since 1789.

Take that, ye errant executive, or something.

According to a website that catalogs the history of the House of Representatives, the mace is composed of 13 bundled rods, which look like a dagger from afar. They nod to the ancient Roman fasces, used to communicate strength through unity, and represent the original 13 states. The bundled rods are crowned by a globe — i.e., the world — atop which sits an American bald eagle, representing the obvious.

The object itself, the site says, “is usually placed atop a pedestal to the Speaker’s right side” when the House is in session. If the House meets outside its traditional chamber, the mace follows.