Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 4.djvu/181

 ARCIIAEOLOfilCAL 1 N TKLMOKXCK. 1G3 continued to the present time, and may probably be referred to as early a period as the tenth century. The doges of Venice continued to use pendant metal bulhe until the suppression of that republic. The inconvenience at- tending the production of metal impressions must have naturally suggested the application of the die to a more plastic material ; — bence the employ- ment of wax. In this country, after the Conquest, the matrices of seals were of metal, — silver, brass, or lead: the latter, from the facility of working it, was most commonly used in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and more especially by individuals of the middle class. The wax employed was of various colours and varied composition. In tbe earliest impressions of English seals it is generally, though not invariably, white ; and from some defect in its preparation, is usually found in a very friable and decayed state. Red and green then became the prevailing colours; and in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries white was again generally used, particularly for the Great Seal and the seals of the several courts of law. Mr. Turner then referred to numerous remarkable instances of the use, during the middle ages, of antique intaglios as seals, particularly as secreta or privy seals. They Avere generally surrounded by medieval legends, which were often grotesquely inapplicable to the subject of the gems. As regarded the shape of medieval seals, Mr. Turner remarked that the principal forms were circular or an acute oval shape (vesica piscis) : ecclesiastical seals were generally, though not always, of the latter form. There were, of course, numerous variations from these shapes ; but it would not be worth while to enumerate them. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries seals were, for the most part, oval in outline. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries circular forms were generally used. Viewing seals as applied to documents, it was to be observed that it is perhaps from the early part of the thirteenth century that we must date the practice of impressing the seal upon the document itself instead of suspending it therefrom by silken threads or a slip of parchment. Strictly speaking the pendant seal belonged to docu- ments intended to convey general notifications, to letters unclosed or patent; yet many anomalies are to be noticed in its use. Documents of a private nature were folded, and the seal so impressed on the tblds that the contents could not be attained without breaking the impression; and it might be remarked that a curious practice grew up during the fifteenth century of surrounding seals so impressed by a twisted band of straw, doubtless with a view to their better preservation. This fashion, very pi"evalent during the time of Henry V., continued until the sixteenth century. After some general observations on the various devices which occur on seals before the introduction of heraldry, and pn the artistic features of English medieval seals, Mr. Turner concluded by remarking that the most characteristic distinction between English and foreign seals subsequent to the use of heraldic insignia was that the former were more architectural in their details, the latter more remarkable for extravagance of heraldic design. The Rev. Joseph Hunter observed, that in old seals two kinds of white wax were used : one of a finer kind was wax mixed with fiour, and of