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Details
LOT 2043
Medieval Bronze Seal Matrix with Mask
CIRCA 14TH CENTURY A.D.
3/4 in. (3.65 grams, 19 mm).
Central facing grotesque mask with beard and cap on a foliage panel; legend to the border '* SIGILLVM NVLLVM TALE' (no such seal); supplied with a museum-quality impression. [No Reserve]
Provenance
Found near Finningham, Suffolk, Essex.
Property of an Essex gentleman.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Literature
For discussion of the significance of this legend (and its French equivalent) see John Cherry, “Ie su sel nul tel: no seal like it?” in edd. J.-G. & M.L. Chassel, Pourquoi les sceaux? La sigillographie, nouvel enjeu de l’histoire de l’art, Lille, 2011, pp.195-205.
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