Gerry's Collection
of Antique Wax Seal Stamps
The Orange Collection
Antique Seal Stamps of the 17th and 18th Centuries, Crafted in Hardstones, Agate, Amber, and Jasper
Black Gold Green Orange Masterpieces Silver/Metal Wax Cases White Wood
Ref 83 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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This rather large Georgian banded agate & silver desk seal was bought from England but may be German. It is an interesting item that stands out in the collection thanks to its beautiful orange color. The shield of the coat of arms is round, which means that this stamp belonged most probably to a noble woman who married a Knight (Since there is no crown). The stamp is likely of German origin, as indicated by the horns, a common feature in German heraldry.
The Prestige of Orange Agate Wax Seals. From the Ural to the Drawing Room.
Orange stones - particularly orange agate - were among the most visually striking materials used for the handles of wax seal stamps in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Agate was valued for its vibrant, banded translucency and natural variations in hue. This stone was a favorite among both European aristocracy and high-ranking officials. In addition to agate, other materials such as orange jasper, carnelian (a reddish-orange chalcedony), and possibly certain varieties of marble or calcite were occasionally fashioned into handles, though less commonly. The lapidary arts flourished in this period, and orange-toned stones, being both durable and luxurious, were highly sought after for objects that conveyed personal refinement, including wax seal stamps. The Imperial Lapidary Works of Russia, particularly under the Romanovs, were renowned for their mastery in working with hardstones, including agate, which was sourced from the Ural Mountains or imported through trade. Agate seals were prized across France, Austria, England, and Russia, typically commissioned by members of the nobility, diplomats, and wealthy collectors who favored the stone's symbolic connotation of stability, taste, and individuality.
Ref 84 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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This is a nice and rather large wax seal stamp from the 19th century. The handle is made of orange-red banded agate in a baluster shape, and the silver matrix is engraved with an alliance coat of arms under a marquis crown. The gentleman's arms are described as azure with a gold chevron, accompanied in chief by two gold roses and in base by a hand supporting a gold falcon. These arms belong to the de Laage family, known for their involvement in state finance administration, with members holding positions such as advisor-secretary to the king, receiver of taxes, or farmer general. The family also includes clergymen and officers. Originally from Saintonge, the de Laage lineage traces back to Élie de Laage, a squire who lived around 1600 in the parish of Chadenac. In the 18th century, the family branched into several lines, including the now-extinct de Saint Germain and the de Meux branches. Théophile de Laage de Meux founded a distillery in 1856, producing De Laage Cognac, which earned many prizes for its high quality. He sold the distillery in 1885 to Aubouneau, who later sold it to Rémy Martin. While it’s unclear to whom this stamp originally belonged, the other coat of arms could be that of a noble lady from the Bariller family, lords of Saz. However, no documented Bariller-de Laage marriage is currently known in standard sources.
Ref 85 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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I acquired this seal stamp mainly for its handle and the cloisonné technique used to make it. The engraving resembles the arms of the Hartmann von Wynau, a family that takes its name from Wynau, a locality on the Aare River in what is today the canton of Bern, and to the old Bernese patriciate, sometimes described as ministerial nobility.
Ref 86 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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The alliance coat of arms engraved on this seal belonged to Maurice d’André and Éléonore Clary Reynaud de Bologne de Lascours. Maurice d’André, born in 1788, was the son of Antoine-Balthazar-Joachim d’André, baron d’André, one of the most prominent leaders of the Monarchien faction during the early years of the French Revolution. Éléonore, born in 1803, belonged to the Reynaud de Bologne de Lascours family and was an indirect descendant of Jérôme Reynaud de Bologne de Lascours (1761-1835), Baron de Lascours, a military officer and political figure under the Empire. Jérôme was created Chevalier de l’Empire by Napoleon I, a dignity reflected in the imperial augmentation of his arms, notably the red compartment charged with a star. As this augmentation was personal and regulated by imperial law, it was not hereditary and therefore does not appear on the alliance arms engraved on this seal.
Portrait of baron Maurice d'André
Arms of Jerome Lascours, Knight of the Empire
Jérôme Reynaud de Bologne de Lascours
Ref 87 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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This stamp is engraved with the arms of Ange François de Paule de Capriol de Saint-Hilaire (1784-1859). He belonged to the now extinct de Capriol family, whose original arms were simpler: Parti: au 1er d’azur à la chèvre rampante d’or; au 2e d’argent à trois mouchetures d’hermine de sable. His seal shows a more elaborate quartering derived from these ancestral arms. What distinguishes Ange François from other members of the family is the addition of “de Paule” to his name, as a devotional reference to Saint Francis of Paola, whose cult was widespread in southern France from the seventeenth century onward. The name François de Paule was commonly bestowed upon children born on or near the saint’s feast day. The de Capriol family originated in Lautrec, in the Tarn. For a long period, they were lords of Cuq. A cadet branch, known as de Capriol de Saint-Hilaire, owned the castle of Puéchassaut, in Brousse. The family became extinct in 1885.
Genealogic notice about de Capriol
Drawing of the Castle of Puéchassaut
Personal arms of Ange Francois de Capriol
Ref 88 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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This desk sealing stamp is engraved with the coat of arms of the van Oordt family from Holland. While it does not seem that the van Oordt family held a noble title, their arms can be found in the registry compiled by the A.A. Vorsterman van Oijen (1845-1912), in which the genealogies of approximately 600 Dutch families are included. The family has a documented lineage and has been involved in various professional fields. Gabriel van Oordt (1757–1836) was a member of the family who pursued theological studies at the universities of Leiden and Utrecht, eventually becoming a professor of theology at the University of Utrecht in 1804. The Van Oordt family had several distinct branches, particularly during and after the 17th century, with notable presences in Rotterdam, The Hague and Voorburg.
Ref 89 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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I typically don’t collect seal stamps with monograms or initials, but this one caught my interest. It’s a Russian silver gilt and agate seal stamp from around 1860, carved in the shape of a baluster. The stone is beautiful, and the matrix is engraved with a crown and the Cyrillic letters I and V. What’s especially striking is the engraving on the top of the handle, which is the first of its kind in my collection. It features a lion and a unicorn, along with the initials, mantling, and another crown. The stamp came in its antique box, which adds to its appeal. The inner silk lining of the box displays the logo of "G. Thorbecke," with the name Moscou (Moscow in French), suggesting that the maker might have been Dutch or Dutch-speaking Belgian. The stamp is likely the work of Imperial Lapidary. While the original owners of this stamp remain unidentified, it’s certainly an intriguing addition to my collection.
Ref 90 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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This small seal stamp made of a beautiful orange stone belonged, without any doubt, to a member of the family de Pierres, seigneurs du Plessis-Baudouin, whose main residence was the Château des Brétignolles in Anché. The moto of the family is indeed "Pour Loyauté Soutenir", as engraved below the shield of their coat of arms "Or, a cross patty and voided, Gules". Among the notable members of the family was Stephane de Pierres, who married his American wife Jane Thorne in 1842. Both were at the service of Empress Eugenie. Stephane was First Equerry (Premier Ecuyer) to the Empress, while Jane was a lady in waiting. Jane Thorne has been immortalized in a painting by Franz Winterhalter called "Eugenie and her ladies". Jane is in the foreground on the left, with the blue ribbon in her dress. Stephane was also a Member of the Legislative Body, Officer of the Legion of Honour since 16 August 1864, and Honorary Officer of the Order of the Crown.
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Jane Thorne de Pierres (1821-1873)
Lady in Waiting of Empress Eugenie
Empress Eugenie and her ladies in waiting,
Jane Thorne is in the foreground
Baron Stephane de Pierres
(1818-1876)
Ref 91 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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This remarkable antique wax seal stamp likely dates from the Charles X to Louis-Philippe era. The handle is carved from banded agate and embellished with finely chased and gilded vermeil metalwork, richly set with cabochon gemstones, including turquoise and garnet or carnelian. The applied figures in armor, each bearing a cross-topped standard, are likely representations of Saint Maurice, a revered patron of infantry and knightly virtue in European noble iconography. The seal matrix is engraved with a coat of arms surmounted by a coronet of Count. The chief (upper field), on a ground of Or, depicts a half-length figure of a warrior or knight, helmeted and holding a baton or scepter. The base (lower field) features an owl, a traditional emblem of wisdom and vigilance. The overall design, marked by its ornamentation, colored gemstones, and stylized saintly figure, is emblematic of Romantic-era craftsmanship, characteristic of the late Bourbon Monarchy period.
Ref 92 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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This stamp is engraved with the coat of arms of the Tinteniac family, whose members were the Marquis of Quimerc'h, the Barons of Combout, and Lords of Tréanna, Botilliau, the Percher, Haut-Bois, and Buzuech. Vincent de Tinténiac, a prominent member of this family, was born in 1764 in Quimper, where they owned the castle of Quimerc'h en Bannalec. Killed in 1795, he was a French general also referred to as "Chevalier de Tinténiac" (The Knight of Tinteniac), or by his nickname "Le Loup Blanc" (The White Wolf). The coat of arms "ermine, a crescent gules" is described in French as "d'hermines au croissant de gueules, qui est Quimerc'h". The three last words of the heraldic description emphasize that it belongs to the cadet branch Quimerc'h. (Ai)
Ref 93 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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An antique wax seal stamp that opens the door to wild speculations!
This stamp was acquired in Bangkok, Thailand, and is highly unusual, not because of the shape or beauty of its handle, but because of its very distinctive engraving, which blends European heraldic elements with symbols from Siam. At the center of the shield appears the Unalom, a Buddhist symbol of wisdom and spiritual insight, derived from the urna mark of the Buddha. Significantly, the Unalom was adopted as the Privy Seal of King Rama I of Siam, making it both a religious emblem and a royal insignia of legitimacy and sacred kingship. Beneath the Unalom, a rat is depicted. One might speculate that this alludes to the Year of the Rat in the zodiac, perhaps marking the birth year of the seal’s owner. The meaning of the eight stars remains open to interpretation.
What is clear, however, is that the helmet is unmistakably a European heraldic feature, as are the eagle’s wings, elements that could suggest a German origin. The crest placed between the wings seems to represent lotus flowers, which would bring us back once again to Siamese symbolism.
​But then, who was the mysterious owner of this stamp? That is the million‑dollar question. Was it perhaps a European advisor to the Siamese court during the reign of King Rama V? Or a Siamese official posted to Europe in those years? The answer may forever remain a matter of fascinating speculation.
The stamp is engraved with the Unalom, a Buddhist sacred emblem, which King Rama I (1737–1809), founder of the Chakri dynasty, adopted as his Privy Seal.
Dr. Eugene Reytter was a European who served as the personal physician to King Chulalongkorn for 17 years.
The user of the stamp could have been a European officer or adviser integrated into Siamese service, or a Siamese, maybe a diplomat, with strong ties to Europe
Phya Visutr Kosa was a Siamese diplomat who took the post of Ambassador in Berlin in 1902.
Ref 94 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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This stamp is engraved with the crest of the Hepworth family of Ackworth, near Pontefract (Yorkshire, England). The family’s heraldic identity is distinctive. Their crest is described as: Out of a ducal coronet Or, a wyvern Vert. The wyvern, a two-legged dragon, is a frequent emblem in English heraldry, often representing vigilance, valour, and protection. In the Hepworth arms, the wyvern is depicted as issuing from a coronet. In addition to appearing atop the full coat of arms, the crest itself also served as a badge, surrounded by the family’s motto: “Loyal à mort” - literally, “Loyal unto death”. This form, captured in this particular wax seal, was widely used in personal seals, bookplates, and engraved silver. The badge format, with motto encircling the crest, provided a compact and instantly recognizable emblem, easier to reproduce than the full shield of arms. For the Hepworths of Ackworth, the badge not only condensed their heraldic identity but proclaimed their enduring values: loyalty, steadfastness, and courage.
Loyal à mort, the motto of the Hepworth family. Image taken from the Fairbairn's book of Crests of the Families of Great Britain, page 675
The crest of the family Hepworth of Ackworth, Pontefract,
"Out of a ducal coronet Or, a wyvern Vert"
A wyvern, mythical, dragon-like creature distinguished by its two legs and two wings,
such as the one depicted in the crest of the Hepworth of Ackworth family crest
Ref 95 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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This seal is engraved with the arms of the Arnauld (or Arnaud) family. They were the Lords de la Mothe, de Bessac, de la Besse, de Villeneuve, de Ronzière et d'Artonne, then d'Andilly, de Corbeville, and Marquis de Pomponne. The Arnaulds were a French noble family prominent in the 17th century, and closely linked with Jansenism, associating frequently with the Jansenist religious communities in Port-Royal de Paris and Port-Royal des Champs. While their base of operations was in Paris, the family's original roots are in the Auvergne region of France. Ennobled in 1464, the Arnauld family held many prestigious functions: Isaac Arnauld was general of the Carabineers in the Royal Army, Simon Arnauld de Pomponne (1618–1699) was a royal ambassador and Antoine Arnauld was the royal State Counselor to King Henry IV and General Prosecutor for Queen Catherine of Medicis in 1582. The family is divided into several branches. The oldest, Arnauld de Pomponne and Arnauld d'Andilly are now extinct. Another branch of the family, divided into two sub-branches; the Arnauld de la Ronzière and Arnauld d'Artonne are still represented today. Among the other important members of the family are Robert (1589 - 1674), conseiller d’État, specialising in financial questions, in the court of Marie de' Medici, Jacqueline-Marie-Angélique, called La Mère Angélique (1591 - 1661), abbess of the Abbey of Port-Royal. and Henri Charles, who was an ecclesiastic and diplomat.
Robert Arnauld d’Andilly, the eldest of the twenty children of lawyer Antoine Arnauld, procurator-general of Catherine de Médicis, and his wife Catherine Marion.
Simon Arnauld, Marquis de Pomponne
Marie Angélique Arnauld, called La Mère Angélique
Arms of Simon Arnauld
Ref 96 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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The engraving on this beautiful agate seal stamp displays an alliance coat of arms. The shield of the husband corresponds to the arms attributed to Claude Nicolas Maublan, avocat au Parlement de Besançon in Franche-Comté, as recorded in the Armorial d’Hozier. The seal likely belonged to a later descendant. The identity of the wife’s family remains uncertain. Given the geographic, professional, and social ties between Franche-Comté and Switzerland, members of the Maublan family married into Swiss families. Research indeed shows Maublan mariages in Switzerland: In 1704, Étienne Maublan married Marie Bouchet, and in 1711, Jean-Pierre Maublan married Anne-Marie Morel, both from the locality of Bière (canton of Vaud). While the arms of these women could not be identified, an intriguing coincidence emerges. The wife’s shield on the seal bears Azure, three trees on three mounts, a motif that recalls the municipal arms of Bière, which are charged with three pine trees (sapins). This visual similarity allows for cautious speculation regarding a possible connection. In addition, this motif is also compatible with the Walther of Selkingen (Valais), whose recorded arms likewise feature three trees issuing from mounts. No documentary evidence currently confirms a marital alliance between the Maublan family and the Walther of Selkingen, the heraldic resemblance suggests a plausible, though unproven, alternative hypothesis.
Marriage record of Jean-Pierre Maublan and Anne-Marie Morel, both born in the locality of Bière in Switzerland
Seal engraved with the Maublan arms, and arms similiar to Walther or Bière
Record of the marriage of Etienne Maublan and Marie Bouchet, both born in the locality of Bière in Switzerland
Ref 97 - ♥♥♥♥♥
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This is a seal of the van Hall family, originally from the region of Arnhem in Gelderland. The name likely derives from the hamlet of Hall, near Brummen, from which an early ancestor may have come. One of the earliest known figures is Jan van Hall, born around 1570 in Malburgen on the Rhine near Arnhem. Through the following generations the family gradually moved westward and entered urban society. A decisive step in the family’s rise occurred with Floris Allertsz van Hall, who left the Rhine region for Leiden in the late seventeenth century. His descendants gradually moved closer to the administrative and regent circles of the Dutch Republic. This development became especially visible with Maurits Cornelis van Hall (1768–1858), a lawyer who played a role in the political life of the Batavian Republic and later the Kingdom of the Netherlands. His eldest son, Floris Adriaan van Hall (1791–1866), became the most prominent member of the family. A lawyer and statesman, he served as Minister of Justice, Finance, and Foreign Affairs and twice headed the Dutch government. In 1856 King William III elevated him to the nobility with the hereditary title of Baron. Floris first married Alida Paulina Bondt, and after her death he married Henriette Marie Jeannette Schimmelpenninck van der Oije, who later served as lady-in-waiting to Queen Emma.
Baron Floris Adriaan van Hall (1791-1866)
Maurits Cornelis van Hall 1768 - 1858
Coat of arms of the van Hall family
Baroness Schimmelpenninck van der Oije
Arms: Or, three red chevrons, three stag’s heads in their natural color, each chevron surmounted by a star.
Gerry's Collection of Antique Seal Stamps.