Personal Seal

Description Seals were used to authenticate personal as well as state documents. The design carved on the base would be pressed into melted sealing wax that would then harden in the air. The letter "H" on this seal was probably the first letter of a name. The handle is made in the shape of a tiny statuette of the Virgin and Child.

Provenance Mrs. John Hunt, Drumleck, Baily, County Dublin, Ireland; purchased by Walters Art Museum, 1981.

Inscriptions [Inscription] Carved on underside of base: H

Credit Museum purchase, 1981