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Description: | A copper-alloy seal matrix, with a circular die and a hexagonally facetted conical handle. The handle has a triple moulded collar beneath an openwork quatrefoil terminal. The die is unusual (and currently unidentifiable) as there is no legend.The matrix depicts a stag's head (caboshed) with a triple-towered castle between the antlers; to either side of the stag's head is a tree, with a hunting hound running beneath. The whole of the background is lightly cross-hatched.Without a legend it is very difficult to attribute the seal to a specific person or place. The images on the matrix may represent an idealised hunting scene, but is more likely to be a pictorial description of the owner's name, residence or occupation. There are a number of records of arms that feature a stag's head caboshed, including one from the royal (hunting) Forest of Dean.It is possible that this seal may have belonged to an English sheriff; from the early 14th century onwards, such seals usually include a triple-towered castle in the design (Harvey & McGuiness1996:40). The possibility that this seal may have belonged to a sheriff is further strengthened by a comparison with the seal of Sir Gilbert Wace, Sheriff of Oxford from 1372 to 1379, now in the British Museum and depicted in the image opposite (accession number 1903,0619.1; Adams et al 2008, no. 11.2). This is also purely pictoral, depicting a triple-towered castle, a tree, an ox crossing a ford and a shield of arms.This seal matrix is likely to be of 14th-century date.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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