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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 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 very crude and unclear legend that begins *JE SUY [..]: 'I am [?]. The rest of the legend is unreadable but similar examples read i am private or i am desguise.The seal matrix measures 16.2mm high, 18.3mm in diameter, 4.9 grams.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 (Harvey and McGuinness, 1996: pp. 88-89, 116).
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/ | Go to resource |
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