MAJOR GORGES MARCUS IRVINE (1760-1847) DESK SEAL
AN EARLY 19TH-CENTURY EBONY AND BRASS SEAL
£429
Auction: 19 May 2023 from 10:00 BST
Description
the ebony baluster handle with bulbous head, to a brass matrix, engraved with the arms of Irvine
Dimensions
Length: 97mm, matrix: 21mm x 26mm
Footnote
Heraldry:
Arms: Or a fess gules between three holly leaves proper
Crest: A dexter in armour fesswise issuant out of a cloud the hand proper holding a thistle also proper
Motto: Dum memory ipse mei (While I am mindful of myself)
Note:
Major Gorges Marcus Irvine was born on 26th November 1760 in Castle Irvine, Country Fermanagh, Ireland, to William Irvine and Sophia (Lowther) Irvine. He was the eldest surviving son and inheritor of the Irvine estate. The Irvine family mottos were sub umbra sub sole virescens, meaning ‘flourishing both in sunshine and in shade’, and dum memor ipse mei, seen on the seal, translating to ‘while I am mindful of myself’.