seal; matrix
Description
A lead alloy seal matrix of late 16th or early 17th century date. The rear of the matrix is decorated with a stylised flower, the curving and splayed handle of the matrix corresponding to the stem. Around the edge of the matrix are crude letters, partly illegible, "SHOA--- HAMILSTOUN". In the centre is a lightly engraved shield bearing a worn coat-of-arms. A mould seam can be seen across the floral design, suggesting that it was made in a three-piece mould.
This design is peculiar to a small group of matrices which were almost all recovered from the area of Tayside and the Firth of Forth, and were presumably of local manufacture for the minor gentry of the period (as can be deduced by the names still extant on the matrices). The arms and name on this example are from the same family as an earlier example found near Linlithgow. The method of manufacture indicates the use of a three-piece cut stone mould, an unusual way to make a seal matrix, and more suggestive of making everyday items like pewter buttons and similar trinkets associated with the lower end of the market. None of the surviving examples have been made in the same mould, suggesting these examples represent what must have been a reasonably sizeable group, and the method of manufacture itself would not be particularly viable unless they were being manufactured in sizeable quantities. It must be presumed that many of those who required a seal matrix had the financial means to acquire a far more impressive specimen and their use might best be summed up as a fashion for an unusual style and form.
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Object detail
Dimensions:0 - Whole:L 1.5cm (L 9/16")
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