Good impressions: image and authority in medieval seals
11 January – 20 May 2007
Room 69a
Exhibition closed
The medieval period saw an unprecedented use of seals to
validate legal documents and to protect personal correspondence.
This exhibition features royal, Episcopal, ecclesiastic and
aristocratic seals alongside those of towns and tradesmen to take a
comprehensive look at how medieval people saw themselves.
Many of the secular seals are rare survivals of non-religious
art showing the medieval fondness for nature and animals. High
status seals include those of Robert Fitzwalter, principal among
the barons who compelled King John to agree to Magna Carta and
Isabella of Hainault, queen of Philip II of France. From the 1140s
to the early 1300s, the aristocracy used small counterseals set
with classical gems to demonstrate taste refinement and
education.
The recent find from Swanley, Kent of a thirteenth century
silver seal set with a gem portrait of the Roman Emperor Antoninus
Pius (reigned AD 138-161) belongs to this category of seal and is
on display for the first time.
Image: Seal-die of Robert Fitzwalter. The
coat of arms of an English baron. Medieval, about AD 1213-19. From
England.