Medieval Bronze Chess Piece Personal Seal Matrix with Fox-Bishop

An annular brooch set with six cabochon sapphires, the spaces in between engraved with annulets, diamonds and a fleur-de-lis at the centre, a flower motif on each side of the pin. 6.11 grams, 20 mm



Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Private collection, UK.

In medieval jewellery, sapphires were revered not only for their beauty but for their rich symbolic and spiritual meaning. Associated with the heavens, they embodied divine wisdom, purity, and truth, often worn by clergy and royalty as signs of piety and authority. Believed to protect against envy, poison, and deceit, sapphires were also thought to reveal dishonesty by losing their brilliance, making them symbols of fidelity and integrity. Frequently gifted as tokens of loyal love, they were valued for their supposed healing properties, particularly for ailments of the eyes and mind. In 14th-century jewellery, the fleur-de-lis symbolised a blend of royal allegiance, religious devotion, and noble identity. As the emblem of the French monarchy, it signified loyalty to the crown and noble lineage, while its association with the Virgin Mary evoked purity and spiritual grace. Common in courtly and devotional contexts, it also reflected chivalric ideals such as honour, fidelity, and moral virtue.

Of small and and bulbous type; oval body with wide sounding split, within is a small pea that moves freely; the bell with a square-shaped suspension loop with file marks to both faces and a drilled, circular hole; both faces have moulded decoration comprising of lines, roundels and pellets. 5.61 grams, 14 mm



Found whilst searching with a metal detector in the Isle of Wight, Hampshire, UK. Recorded with the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme Report no.IOW-B67BA3.

PAS can find no direct comparison for this bell, however it does share similarities with some hawking bells (for example DENO-127662), and animal bells (see~LEIC-88EDB8).

Each barrel-shaped with flared rim, one pinched into a trefoil. 42 grams total, 24-25 mm



Property of a South Australian gentleman; from his father's collection formed in the 1960s-2000s; thence by descent. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.