Lot 2
THE DUNDAS CASTLE SWIVEL DESK SEAL
A MID-VICTORIAN GOLD AND CITRINE THREE-SIDED SWIVEL SEAL, CIRCA 1850
Auction: 19 May 2023 from 10:00 BST
Description
the facetted citrine baluster handle collet set with engraved trailing foliate gold collar, the scroll frame to three-sided oval citrine matrix, one side with a crest of a hound/ wolf's head facing left, one inscribed DUNDAS CASTLE, the other blank
Dimensions
Length: 66mm (overall), matrices: 19mm x 22mm
Footnote
Note:
A castle has been in situ on the grounds of Dundas Castle since the early 15th century, and there is still the ‘auld keep’, which dates to 1416. The current castle was fashioned in 1818 for the Dundas family by architect William Burn.
William Burn was well-known as a country house architect and pioneered the Scots Baronial style which Dundas Castle reflects. He worked on renovations to other key estates in Scotland including Lauriston Castle and designed the Melville Monument in St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh.
Unfortunately for the Dundas family, the renovations cost so much that the estate had to be sold and in 1846 was purchased by Mr. Russell, who was the founding partner of Edinburgh law firm Russell & Aitken. It is perhaps at this time that the seal was commissioned, accounting for the ambiguity of the crest.
The house has been in the possession of the current Stewart-Clark family since 1899, suggesting that this seal is perhaps a snapshot of quite a short period of history for this South Queensferry estate.