Seals and seal matrices

Reading a reversed device.

A seal matrix is engraved in reverse (mirror image) so its impression reads correctly — a quick test of authenticity and function. If the lettering reads the right way round on the matrix itself, something is wrong.

Legends run around the edge, often abbreviated Latin — S’ for Sigillum, “seal of…”. The device (heraldic, religious, or a personal motif) and the letter forms are datable. A pointed-oval (vesica) shape usually marks an ecclesiastical or a woman’s seal; round ones served institutions and men alike.

Matrices come in copper alloy, lead, and occasionally silver; look for a handle, pierced lug, or fold-over — how it was carried or worn is part of the record. Lead papal bullae, stamped with the pope’s name, are a distinct and datable family of their own.

If you can, press the matrix into modelling putty and photograph the impression — reading the positive is far easier, and the photograph belongs in the record.

From the guide library inside Collectors Catalogues, a free app for cataloguing antiques and finds with honest, museum-grade records.

More on religious objects

Identifying pilgrim badges and ampullae — Lead-tin devotional souvenirs.

Identifying scarabs and amulets — Egyptian protective forms.

Identifying cuneiform tablets — Wedge-marks in clay.

Identifying reliquaries and devotional objects — Containers for the sacred — from enkolpia to house shrines.

Identifying ushabti figures — The mummiform servants of Egyptian burials — and their million imitations.

Identifying icons and devotional art — Painted panels, brass travelling icons, and the grammar of sacred images.

Home · Get the app · Guides · Museums · Privacy · Terms