Intriguing Copper & Brass Religious Desk Seal
Seal Detail
An intriguing desk seal socket, with no handle, dating supposedly to the early 18th century and relating to a religious Order, the Capuchins. The large brass socket terminates in a circular matrix, believed to be copper or some similar alloy which is somewhat naively engraved with a central depiction of Our Lady, crowned, and holding her Child on her knee with a circumscription within a lined border reading:
166SIGNIA * CAPU * AISCEASI *7 * IAN *
The somewhat unfamiliar script does not lend itself to clear translation and indeed, it would be easy to interpret the start of the script to read 1662 but I do not believe this is the case. However, I cannot offer much help with an alternative, save for the fact that the first word is likely to be SIGNIA which leaves three numbers meaningless...... However, if anyone has any bright ideas, I would dearly like to hear.
Seal Specification
Height mm 30mm
Diameter of matrix 33mm
Weight 61g