FINALLY!.....Its a swivel fob seal from a Colonial VA site

[Flathead25]

FINALLY!.....It's a swivel fob seal from a Colonial VA site

Ok. I posted this over a year ago but never put it in the "what is it" section. I all but lost interest in it until I saw some old posts on here for wax seal matrices. I spent at least 4 hrs on Google trying to find out what it is. I first started looking at intaglio pieces and thought it was a piece of jewelry but couldn't firgure out why it had holes at the top and bottom. If it were jewelry wouldn't it have holes on the sides so the image sat upright? Or a single hole at the top to hang from a necklace? Long story short, I finally found some examples of what I had found over a year ago. My question is....were these seals with only an image kind of generic? I would love to try and find out if it was used as an actual seal or just a decoration. Has anyone had any luck tracking down the seals owner or examples of them on old documents or letters?

I apologize this is not a current find, but I wanted to share it as I almost feel like it's a new find for me...now that I know what it is.

 

[ironhorse]

That is a very cool find!

I've found a few now and I regard them as a real detecting prize. From what I've gathered in information, fob seals can be connected to certain individuals, but for the most part they were basically a fashion statement, some worn around the neck, some on watch chains , yes some used to seal letters and documents. They came in a wide range of designs and materials, and they all are very interesting!
I like the ship design on yours, very nice!

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

I would consider it a "real prize" too, unlike IH I've yet to find one, and is high on my wish list, but I've already put my top ten in stone, so seal matrix will have to go down as #11.

 

[flatbutton]

Awesome piece! Congrats on doing the research on a truly unusual find!

 

[Greylock]

That's a very cool piece of history. Would love to find one myself.

 

[Flathead25]

Forgot to mention. My wife took this to Antiques Roadshow when they were in Richmond a few months ago. The "expert" who looked at told her it was early 20th century and was probably a cameo. After all of the research I did, I would have to say it's 18th century. Maybe early 19th century. And foreign made.

 

[vpnavy]

Thanks for sharing...

 

[ironhorse]

Forgot to mention. My wife took this to Antiques Roadshow when they were in Richmond a few months ago. The "expert" who looked at told her it was early 20th century and was probably a cameo. After all of the research I did, I would have to say it's 18th century. Maybe early 19th century. And foreign made.

Not an "expert" here, but would take a stab at 1820s or 30s for that

 

[Davers]

It's a very nice piece in my eyes .

By the way ,& please forgive my stupidity but -( What is "a cameo)?

Thanks
Davers

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

Surprised the "expert" called it a cameo, as they are raised relief, the oposite of a seal.

@ Davers a cameo is usually a portrait of a woman carved on stone (or other) in relief, much like you'd see on a coin.

 

[MT_Joe]

Very nice. Ships are always a good subject!

 

[Silver Searcher]

Surprised the "expert" called it a cameo, as they are raised relief, the oposite of a seal.

@ Davers a cameo is usually a portrait of a woman carved on stone (or other) in relief, much like you'd see on a coin.

I agree not a Cameo, could be a crude representation of the Mayflower...cool find

SS

 

[Flathead25]

Surprised the "expert" called it a cameo, as they are raised relief, the oposite of a seal.

@ Davers a cameo is usually a portrait of a woman carved on stone (or other) in relief, much like you'd see on a coin.

I was too Rick! Not even close! I was not at the show. I wish I could have been there to ask a lot of questions. But, my wife told me Antiques Roadshow is nothing like what you see on TV. Thanks for looking everyone!

 

[Steve in PA]

Great find! Great condition too!

 

[CRUSADER]

nice piece, if it was in the what is it, I would have screamed the ID you have

 

[Flathead25]

nice piece, if it was in the what is it, I would have screamed the ID you have

It was a link for UK finds that you put on an old thread that I followed to finally ID it!! So a big thank you Crusader! By the way, what do you make of the flag on the stern? I was thinking Scottish flag....but I may be reading too much into it.

 

[CASPER-2]