Lot 315
A collection of three gold mounted fob seals, of Nelson interest,
Auction: 29 June 2005 at 12:00 BST
Description
one with oval smoky quartz intaglio bearing arms representing the marriage of the Rev. Edward Foyle, to his wife, a Miss Hayter, who he married in 1755 (Foyle was grandfather of Francis Elizabeth Eyre, wife of the 2nd Earl Nelson), shell, mask and scroll pierced mount, 29mm high ; one with carved rock crystal three-sided swivel fob carved to one side with the arms of the Eyre family, to the second side with their crest, and to the the third with the head of Mercury, pierced scroll mount, 40mm high; and one with rounded rectangular chalcedony intaglio bearing the crests of the Spencer-Churchill family, dukes of Marlborough, borne since 1817 (the 2nd Earl Nelson's second son, John Horatio, married in 1857 Susan Spencer-Churchill, the granddaughter of the 5th duke of Marlborough), fluted domed mount, 30mm high (3)
Footnote
Provenance: This collection of seals, comprising lots 313-318, was purchased as a group in the early 1950s.