Photo Credit: CJ Antiques Ltd
Antique Georgian Period 14K Gold Solid Agate Intaglio Seal Fob ‘Adriana Maria’
Buy It Now Price: $284.75 (price as of 2016; item no longer available)
Pros:
-This is a very early 19th century Georgian era British agate intaglio sealstone mounted in a fine 14 karat gold setting.
-It measures 1.34 inches (34 mm) tall and is 0.71 inches (18 mm) by 0.55 inches (14 mm) at the base. The piece weighs 7.0 grams.
-The mottled beige to peach colored agate intaglio sealstone is carved in a characteristically neo-classical, flared octagonal shape. It is engraved on the bottom with a woman’s name “Adriana Maria”, surrounded by stars and grass.
-Sealstones were both fashionable and practical accessories for refined British men and women from the 18th century until the beginning of the 20th century. Sealstones were expensive luxury items in their day, but no self-respecting British person of means would be found without one.
-Sealstones were used to impress an engraved design, name or coat of arms into the surface of wax seals on letters, thus insuring a message’s integrity. Any tampering in an attempt to read the letter before it had reached its intended recipient would break the fragile wax seal and be instantly obvious to even a casual observer.
-The Georgian Period, which extended from 1714 to 1830, was a golden age for the British aristocracy. Increasing land values and land rents meant that the upper classes became as rich and powerful as they had ever been in British society. For the wealthy, it was a time of palatial Georgian estates, Grand Tours of Continental Europe and ever expanding empire (with the sole exception of the break-away American colony).
-The solid gold mounting of this sealstone is rendered in a particularly fine, late neo-classical style. The elegant scrollwork and delicate bright-cut engraving is typical of goldwork of this period. Given the item’s superb style and solid gold setting, I think the $284.75 asking price is a bargain.
-The seller dates the piece to around 1820 or “maybe a little older”. I tend to think this example is slightly older, perhaps from the first decade of the 19th century.
Cons:
-While the gold setting is in a good state of preservation overall, the bail at the top of the piece is showing some wear. This is to be expected on a piece of jewelry that is two hundred years old and isn’t a major issue.
-This specimen is fairly light weight at 7.0 grams, but that is typical of the period in which it was produced. Later settings for sealstones from the very late Georgian Period into the Victorian Age are often much heavier and more massive.
-According to the seller, the sealstone setting is marked “585” – the European notation for 14 karat gold. But this is obviously a later addition to the piece, possibly indicating a repair or alteration. Sealstone settings were rarely hallmarked before the 1860s. While the situation is curious, I believe the piece is inexpensive enough that any monetary risk is strictly limited.
