Medieval Lead Seal Matrix

A bronze seal matrix of chessman-type with pierced lozenge finial, incuse design of intersecting arches and tracery, facing canine mask to the centre; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 11.9 grams, 30 mm



Found Rodings, Essex, UK. Acquired on the UK antiques market between 1974-1985. Albert Ward collection, Essex, UK.

A gold posy ring with raised foliate band externally, inscribed '+AMOR VINCIT' for 'Love Conquers' in Roman capitals. 1.72 grams, 17.46 mm overall, 15.47 mm internal diameter (approximate size British I, USA 4 1/4, Europe 7.44, Japan 7)



Acquired on the UK antiques market between 1974-1985. Albert Ward collection, Essex, UK.

Omnia vincit amor, translating to 'Love Conquers All' and abbreviated on this ring, is one of the most famous of all Latin expressions. It is still used today, in the original Latin, in translation and in its alternative version ‘Amor vincit omnia’; the expression originally comes from the Roman poet Virgil, (Publius Vergilius Maro) most famous for his epic Aenid; the phrase appears in his first work, Eclogues.

A mixed group of lead pilgrim badges of different types: a wedge-shaped fragment displaying an openwork oval design; a semi-circular fragment bearing the letters 'CT' on a cross-hatched field; a pointed arch-shaped fragment decorated with lozenges, each populated with a single pellet, two piercings; a discoid example with raised central flower head, enclosed by concentric roundels decorated with geometric forms including pellets, ring-and-dot motifs and hatched lines, together with incomplete legend. 20.3 grams total, 29-39 mm



Found on the Thames foreshore, London, UK. Acquired on the UK antiques market between 1974-1985. Albert Ward collection, Essex, UK.