Agate Amethyst Gold Desk Seal | Engraved Heraldic Engraving c.1850s
Agate Amethyst Gold Desk Seal | Engraved Heraldic Engraving c.1850s
POA
Description
A beautifully preserved 19th-century desk seal, combining sculptural elegance with personal history.
The faceted handle is cut from richly banded agate - warm, polished, and subtly translucent - tapering to a finely detailed base in 18ct gold.
Set into the foot is an amethyst matrix engraved with a family crest: a heraldic design likely commissioned by a landed family or member of the gentry, making this far more than a decorative object.
The seal would once have been used to sign and authenticate letters, lending its owner both authority and privacy.
There’s something undeniably regal about the proportions and materials - from the heft of the carved agate to the saturated violet of the amethyst.
This was never a novelty; it was a statement of identity.
Today, it stands as a rare and tactile survivor of a slower, more deliberate world - and one that still holds aesthetic power.
Whether kept as a piece of desk art, displayed under a dome, or carried as a personal talisman, it speaks of presence, taste, and lineage.
Length 6cm
Available exclusively at ELTONS, Grays Antique Market, Mayfair, London.
For more information or to purchase this piece online, please visit our website www.eltonantiquejewellery.com
| item details | |
|---|---|
| Period | Pre 1900 |
| Main Gemstone | Agate |
| Dimensions | 6cm long |
| Secondary Gemstone | Amethyst |
Product REF: 554M
