Fine and Superb German Banded Agate Desk Seal
( Saxony
1800 to 1900
)
Medium
Agate
Literature:
The earliest use of the stamp seal seems to date to about 5000BC in Western Asia. Then in South Mesopotamia cylindrical seals became the standard form. The incised inscription on them would give the name, family name and profession of the owner and by rolling it on a damp clay, goods could be sealed and identified. With the development of heraldry in the later Middle Ages in Europe as a means of identification, all who were entitled to bear arms had seals and rings engraved with their armourial bearings. After the 18th century the need for seals and signet rings gradually became less essential, but there still remains to this day a vogue for them however rarely they are actually put to use.
Description / Expertise
A Fine and Superb German Banded Agate Desk Seal
Carved with the shield and crest of Tümpling of Saxony and Prussia
Early 19th Century
Size: 10cm high, 5.5cm dia. – 4 ins high, 2¼ ins dia.
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