What do you seal?
A seal imprint still gives a letter or a document a certain panache. It used to be a guarantee that the document was authenticated by the seal's owner and/or that the letter was untampered with. The imprint could also be a collector's item. But what do you see in a seal?
King Karl's Seal (17th Century) by unknownThe Royal Armoury, Sweden
First we have to remember that an engraved seal is a reversed image of the image. If not, it is un-usable. Text and symbols must therefore be read as a mirror image, you might think. But there is an additional aspect to the seal.
In heraldry the left side is the right.
And the right side is the left. It is all from the bearer's point of view. Imagine that you are carrying the shield (often called an eschutcheon). It will set things right.
To simplify things left is called "sinister" and right is called "dexter". But, of course, there is yet another thing. As the seal is engraved as a mirror image and the heraldic image is shown from the bearer's point of view it makes left left and right right. Right?
Taking sides
And, to make it even more interesting, the sinister side is deemed of lesser value than the dexter side. In this seal, belonging to Queen Lovisa, her ancestral escutcheon is on the left side and her new, higher ranking affiliation to the right.
And on top of that
Furthermore, the escutcheons could be on top of each other. Then they could be called inescutcheons or heart shields. Here we have a good example with a base consisting of the major royal escutcheon of Sweden ontop of which the inescutcheon for the House of Hesse-Kassel and the inescutcheon of the Duke of Hesse-Kassel is laid.
King Oscar's seal (19th Century) by unknownThe Royal Armoury, Sweden
The various symbols surrounding the escutcheon is also enlightening when reading a seal. This is a Swedish royal crown, indicating that the owner is a Queen or a King.
And in this case there are two additional crowns, because the seal belonged to a regent of a dual kingdom, Sweden-Norway.
The Norwegian axe wielding lion on the escutcheon is on the sinister side (and we all know what that means by now). The Swedish three crowns and crowned lion is on the dexter side.
The inescutcheon shows the impaled image of Pontecorvo (sinister) and the House of Vasa (dexter). Bearing in mind that the seals owner, King Oscar I, once was Prince heir of Pontecorvo it is a token of respect and continuity to display the forebearers' shield to the right.
Below the escutcheon we find all five Swedish Royal Orders, displayed by rank with the highest below. From the bottom: The Royal Order of the Seraphim, the Order of the Sword, the Order of the Polar Star, The Order of Vasa and the Order of Charles XIII.
The creatures holding the escutcheon are called supporters and could be fashioned in many ways. Lions are quite usual.
All in all
Seals are interesting in many ways. They are personal, yet official. They mark changes in life, yet stresses continuity. They tell a story of the owner's claim to a position in society. They are imprints of important people. They are intaglio cut selfies.
National Historical Museums
Text: G. Sandell
Photo: H. Bonnevier
