MEDIEVAL SEAL MATRIX

1200

Medieval copper alloy seal matrix, 27mm long, 18mm wide and 3mm thick. The seal is in fair condition and weighs 7.81g. It ispointed-oval and flat, and has a central image of a 'pelican in her piety' - in other words, a bird feeding three chicks in a nest by pecking at her own chest. This was a commonly used image symbolising Christ's sacrifice. The central image is upside down with respect to the surrounding inscription, which is set between beaded borders. It appears to read + S'IOhANNI' L' FORI' TD GRTTV. The engraving is quite clear; the Ns of Johanni are reverse-barred and the OR is ligated, but apart from the first two words (Seal of John...) it is very hard to understand. The reverse has a small triangular ridge which widens and rises to form a suspension loop, now broken. This loop or lug is at the top of the inscription and so at the base of the central motif.