A complete copper alloy ‘Vesica’ seal matrix of the Medieval
period (AD 1175 - AD 1250).
The Vesica shaped (pointed oval) object has an intact
suspension loop (handle) to the reverse, as well as a tapering raised mid rib.
The central design shows two oppositely facing conjoined heads. The left facing head (right on impression) depicts a veiled female; the right facing head (left on impression) appears to depict a male with substantial features, possibly a moustache. At the apex there is a trefoil with two curls and below a stem leading to the conjoined heads. Below the conjoined heads leads to another trefoil flanked by two singular pellets. The design is central to a beaded border.
Edging the beaded border of the seal matrix is an
inscription, beginning with a star above a crescent and reading: SIGILLVm . ADE
DE TInDAL (Seal [of] Adam of Tindal/Tynedale).
The design of the seal with the central two heads, suggests
that the seal is of the 13th century. The motifs were common in this
period.
The inscription is easily recognised to be associated with
two individuals named Adam De Tindale, a father and son, recorded as Barons of
Langley in the late 12th to mid-13th century.
For Auction 11th May 2022.
Estimate £2,000 - £3,000
A brief history of The Baron of Langley:
In the period the seal matrix is likely to have been forged,
the Baron of Langley was 13,000 acres and bounded by the River Allen and the
Black Dyke earthwork to the West; edged to the North by the South of Muckle
Moss. Bushfell to the South, and Nether Warden and the South Tyne of Kingshaw
Plain to the East. The estate centralised on Langley Castle, the current focal
point of the area.
Due to the commonality of the motif in the 13th
Century, the seal matrix is likely to belong to Adam De Tindale junior; Adam De
Tindale senior is recorded as holding the Barony until the AD 1189, under Henry
II, succeeded by his son who held the Barony from AD 1189 under Richard I,
potentially dying around AD 1233.
The seal matrix was found by metal detector in the South
Tyneside area.
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