Seal Detail

A wood-handled silver desk seal, rubbed marks, French, mid 18th century, the handle turned with mushroom cap set within a central disc, the shaft and silver collar banded, integral oval silver matrix engraved a full coat of arms comprising shield and supporters below a continental Marquis' coronet.  

The arms are those of the Marquis De Douhet D'Auzers*. The de Douhets had their roots in Auvergne, at Montel-le-Gelat (Puy-de-Dôme). The family was ennobled in 1479 or 1483. In 1655, a member of the Douhet family had the Château de Monneyroux built in Haute-Marche, in the commune of Dontreix, Creuse. This branch became extinct in the eighteenth century. At the end of the twentieth century, the Auzers and Romananges branches still survived.

* Thanks to Francis Sanchez for the clarification of the armorial.

Seal Specification

Height:  83mm

Diameter of matrix:  21mm x 24mm 

Weight:  31g