Brass Desk Seal of the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Bermondsey
Brass Desk Seal of the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Bermondsey
Brass Desk Seal of the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Bermondsey
Brass Desk Seal of the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Bermondsey
Brass Desk Seal of the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Bermondsey
Brass Desk Seal of the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Bermondsey
Brass Desk Seal of the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Bermondsey
Brass Desk Seal of the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Bermondsey
01.

Brass Desk Seal of the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Bermondsey

A brass desk seal made circa 1839 for the Convent of Our Lady in Bermondsey, London.

Seal Detail

This desk seal recalls a little but important part of London history being that it was made for the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy which was established in 1839 as part of a now world-wide Order  Five of its nuns went with Florence Nightingale to the Crimea. There appears still to be a catholic Convent in Bermondsey although the original one was destroyed by bombing during WWII.  The seal comprises a fruitwood handle of inverted baluster form, tapering to a banded brass collar and oval brass matrix is nicely engraved with a central figure of Our Lady standing holding her Child with her left arm; an aureole of seven stars (pierced estoiles) encircle her head and shoulders, with an inscription reading:

CONVENT OF OUR LADY OF MERCY BERMONDSEY 

Seal Specification

Height 83mm (3.26")

Diameter of matrix  37mmx26mm (1.45"x1.02")

Weight 65g (2.29oz)