Fine Jewellery - 1st February 2023
Lot 162
A glass and gold desk seal
Estimate £400 - £600 | Hammer £600
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Description
A glass and gold desk seal, France, circa 1833, the flaring cylindrical glass handle with red and white twists, to a gold base composed of acanthus leaves supported by winged cherubs, the seal engraved with the initials ET, length 9.5cm, French assay mark for 18ct gold, 1819-1838, fitted case.
The case is applied with an inscribed label reading 'Cachet de Mme Thiers/ jeune fille, Melle Dosne/ Il m'a été donné en 1923 pare M. Calmm. Maison dont le père fut amis de Thiers.' Assuming this inscription is correct, the initials ET possibly refer to Elise Thiers (1818-1880), wife of Adolphe Thiers, first elected president of the Third Republic of France. They married in 1833, which would date this seal between 1833-1838.