Meet the polygamists of the Bible
Seals have been used for millennia as devices for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, and wax was very often the preferred compound used to make an impression or create an embossment. All sorts of instruments and materials have been employed to make seals, including carved stone, rings, and bespoke stamp seals. And with these, members of royalty, wealthy individuals, and powerful rulers could, quite literally, stamp their approval on anything they wished.
Click through and take a look at the impression seals have made over the centuries.
Dated back to around 2500 BCE, this stone (steatite) seal was unearthed in the Indus Valley.
A fine example of a beautiful 1st-century CE Greek signet ring, an onyx set in a beveled iron ring, the engraving shows the muse of comedy, Thalia, holding a mask. These rings were used as personal stamps by their owners to emboss letters or documents.
This ancient seal dates back to 1800 BCE and the middle Bronze Age of Assyria. Carved from stone, the stamp depicts radiating griffins at a banquet scene.
Early civilizations used cylinder seals engraved with written characters or figurative scenes, or both, to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally wet clay. Pictured is a cylinder seal from Babylonia c. 1895–539 BCE.
The impression left by this cylinder shows its owner between two goddesses and being led before the king who is seated on an elaborate throne. The cuneiform inscription reads: "Ur-Nammu, strong man, king of Ur, Hash-hamer, governor of the city of Ishkun-Sin, is your servant." This example is dated back to about 2100 BCE.
The fragmented remains of the William Charter and its original wax seal. Written on vellum, it is the oldest document in the City of London archive, given by King William I (the Conqueror) to the City in 1067, soon after the Battle of Hastings.
The seal of William II (1056–1100), depicting a man on horseback. He was commonly known as William Rufus, possibly because of his red-faced appearance.
The gold signet ring of Michael Zorianos, an officer of the Despotate of Epirus in Greece. During the Byzantine period, these rings were also used for sealing personal documents and validating wills and testaments. This particular example dates back to around 1300.
This 10th-century signet ring belonging to John, imperial spatharios (Byzantine bodyguard) ould have served a similar purpose.
This beautiful medieval seal is decorated with a small stone carving or intaglio, and is dated back 800 years to Germany or the Netherlands.
The two well-preserved seals of King Edward I of England (1239–1307).
The seal of Robert the Bruce (1274–1329), King of the Scots. It's dated back to the 14th century.
The great seal of Edward II (1284–1327), King of England.
The 13th-centruy seal of Elizabeth of Sevorc and its impression. Women were rarely depicted on horseback but Elizabeth, Lady of Seabourg, who lived in northern France, is shown riding side-saddle holding a hawk on her gloved hand.
The seal of Albert V of Austria (1397–1439), Duke of Austria and King of Germany and later Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire under the name Albert II.
A 14th-century parchment cover of a document called a chrysobull (golden bull) because of its gold seal. In it, Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II (1259–1332) grants favors to the town of Monevasia in the Peloponnese, southern Greece.
This document sealed the fate of Joan of Arc (1412–1431). The Maid of Orléans was convicted during her trial in 1430 and burned at the stake the following year in what turned out to be a grave miscarriage of justice.
Seals were made to literally stamp the authority of civic councils across Europe during the Middle Ages. This magnificent example dates back to the 14th century and the Italian city of Cividale del Friuli.
Elizabeth I (1533–1603) was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor. Pictured is a rare wax impression of the great seal of Elizabeth I, which unfortunately is incomplete.
The second great seal of England, dated back to c. 1656, features Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) on horseback.
This late 16th-century royal seal in the form of a turtle dates back to Korea and the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). Image: Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The seal is cast in bronze with gilding and spells out a royal decree. Image: Los Angeles County Museum of Art
These are replicas of the three seals used by the inquisitors at a trial, 700 years ago, in which Pope Clement V absolved the Knights Templar of charges of heresy. The seals are designed in the classic Vesica-Mandorla (almond) shape.
The first decree of Elizabeth Petrovna (1709–1762), Empress Elizabeth, dated 1744 and stamped with her seal.
This is the 1763 seal used by administrators of the East India Company to sign off a deal with the Mughal emperor of India accepting the company's new role as civil, legal, and financial administrator of Bengal, India's wealthiest province. The silver seal is inscribed in English and Persian, the latter the official language of the Mughal court.
The official stamp seal of of Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma (1791–1847) with the coat of arms of the Duchy of Parma.
Napoleon Bonaparte's last will and testament dated April 16, 1821 bears the exiled emperor's personal seal. In it he expresses his wish to be buried on the banks of the Seine in Paris.
At least Napoleon enjoyed the good life before being packed off to St. Helena and exile. This Cognac bottle from the House of Napoleon I in Fontainebleau features the emperor's embossed seal on its neck.
The historic Treaty of Versailles, the peace accord that ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers, was signed on June 28, 1919, and officially ended the First World War. Signatories included Woodrow Wilson for the US and David Lloyd George for Great Britain. The document features seals stamped against each name.
The Seal of the President of the United States is the official symbol of the office of the President of the United States. It includes the President's coat of arms, an eagle on the great seal, a ring of stars, and the words Seal of the President of the United States. The use of presidential seals goes back at least to 1850, and probably much earlier. The current design was adopted in 1945.
Sources: (City of London) (History) (British Museum)
Stunning seals of approval
The use of seals, and the impression they've made throughout history
LIFESTYLE History
Seals have been used for millennia as devices for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, and wax was very often the preferred compound used to make an impression or create an embossment. All sorts of instruments and materials have been employed to make seals, including carved stone, rings, and bespoke stamp seals. And with these, members of royalty, wealthy individuals, and powerful rulers could, quite literally, stamp their approval on anything they wished.
Click through and take a look at the impression seals have made over the centuries.