LOT 2353

Medieval Bronze Seal Matrix of Stephen of Poissy, Cleric

1300-1500 A.D.

3/4 in. (8.83 grams, 19 mm).

An extremely fine seal matrix with a hexagonally facetted handle with a hexagonal and a sub-circular lug, probably to accommodate a chain or cord to allow the seal to be carried about the neck or secured about the person; the base of the matrix handle widening to accommodate the circular die engraved with a bricked castle next to which is half a fleur-de-lis, beneath the image of a fish; the central device surrounded by a circular beaded border separating it from an inscription reading '+S'STEPhE DE POISSIACO. CL'I' for 'Seal of Stephen of Poissy, cleric'; accompanied by a museum-quality impression.

Found whilst searching with a metal detector in Folkestone and Hythe, Kent, UK.
Property of a Kent gentleman, a specialist medieval collector.

Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.KENT-9E270E.

The central device's motif supports the attribution of this matrix to someone hailing from the modern French town of Possy in the Île-de-France region of France, as the fish and fleur-de-lis are still used as the arms of the town to this day. Additionally, other medieval seals featuring a castle dimidiated with the fleur-de-lys are known with connections to the town, for example, those published by Douët (1865) No. 5050. The owner of this seal shares his name with the famed Stephen or Etienne de Poissy, who'd eventually become Archbishop of Paris and cardinal priest of Sant'Eusebio in Rome. The famed Stephen is particularly well known in English history as he oversaw the signing of the Treaty of Brittany in 1360. It is unlikely that this is the seal of that particular Stephen of Poissy, however, as those with high ecclesiastical postings tended to have large, ornate precious metal seal matrices. This matrix is also of a form probably placing it a generation earlier.