Seal diameters: 55mm, 47mm, and 40mm
Silver. An Edwardian set of three Raleigh seals by Crichton Brothers, Bond Street, London, reproducing the silver seals of office in the British Museum of the soldier, courtier, explorer and poet Sir Walter Raleigh (1553-1618) comprising, the seal matrix as Governor of Virginia in 1584 (a shield with five lozenges in a bend, with a stag crest, wolf supporters, and motto ‘Amore et Virtute’ (Love and Valour); Raleigh’s seal matrix as Warden of the Stannaries of Cornwall and Devon in 1585, depicting a mounted sword wielding knight and legend; and a small family seal matrix featuring the quartered arms Raleigh, Champernowne, Carew, and other prominent West Country families in his lineage. The two larger seals with reverse semi-circular hinged handles, the small seal with circular recessed mount. Contained in original, but slightly warped, Crichton Brothers case.
The catalogue of the British Museum refers: -
‘In 1904 there were put up for sale in London three silver seals, all made for the explorer, courtier, writer and poet Sir Walter Ralegh for use in his various offices. These afterwards passed into the hands of Messrs. Crichton Brothers, of Bond Street, who, finding they were wanted for the British Museum, devised a scheme whereby they should eventually be presented to that institution. They prepared a number of electrotype copies of the seals to be sold at a guinea the set, the purchasers of the electrotypes to be considered as the donors of the originals to the Museum. Messrs. Crichton's ingenious device met with only limited success, about two hundred sets only having been sold, but they decided, nevertheless, that the seals should go to the British Museum. The gift having been accepted by the trustees, they are now on exhibition in the Medieval Room. Apart from their personal and historical interest, they possess artistic qualities of no mean order, though the Elizabethan age was far from being the best period of English seal engraving.’