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Description: | A complete cast copper alloy seal matrix of Medieval date. The matrix is conical and hexagonally faceted. It has a prominent circular collar that separates the handle from a pointed oval shaped terminal that has a circular perforation. The die itself is circular. It has as its central decorative motif a grotesque in the form of a squirrel facing right with a human face. Around the outside of the motif is a legend that reads *JE SUY DEGISE[], presumably 'I am disguised' or similar and a play on the depiction of the decorative motif. The seal matrix measures 20.50mm in height, 15.59mm in diameter, and weighs 6.14g. Seal matrices of this type bearing imaginative legends in French or English and with decoartive rather than heraldic central elements are typical of the 14th century AD. Harvey and McGuinness note similar legends with grotesque animals and heads, including one that reads JE SUY DEGYSE, and the current example is of probable similar manufacture and date (Harvey and McGuinness, 1996: pp. 88-89, 116). Inscription: *JE SUY DEGISE[] | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Brown, Andrew | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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