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Seal or stamp cut crystal with knight's coat of arms consisting of a coat of arms adorned with a cross and two stars, wearing a helmet and surrounded by foliage foliage, nineteenth century.
This seal is in good condition.
A note: a small glare in the bottom of the coat of arms, micro-chips on the handle, wear of time, see photos (see red arrows).
Collectible object whose oldest copies date from four millennia before our era. The stamp was first used to affix the personal mark of a character to guarantee the contents of a box or envelope, the authenticity of a document. We also used the term seal. The little personal stamp is indeed used in Europe since the Middle Ages. It can be a ring mounted with a hard stone intaglio, or a gold engraved kitty (the signet rings are nothing else!). But more are the fitted seals, formed of a hard stone engraved intaglio: carnelian, garnet, sapphire, rock crystal, agate; some are even ancient intaglios. These small stamps are sometimes jewels that hang from a chain or chatelaine; like boxes, it's often a gift item. These stamps are of varying sizes: there are tiny ones set on pretty chiseled gold frames, others of 1.5 to 2cm in diameter mounted on a handful of gold, pomponne, silver chiseled, mother-of-pearl, hard stone, wood ...
** Coat of arms: in terms of blazon and collection, we say rather "weapons". For an object, the fact of being armored is a quality that can be a source of a slight added value. A crest, surmounted by a crown of count or marquis, always flatters the vanity of its owner. The presence of weapons is often a sign of quality and makes it possible to establish the origin of an object, provided, however, to engage in a heraldic search. (See Larousse dictionary of antiquities and flea market).
