Lot 546
THE LORD HIGH ADMIRAL OF SCOTLAND SEAL
A GEORGE III SILVER SEAL, WILLIAM PITTS LONDON 1816
Estimate: £2,000 - £3,000
Scottish Works of Art & Whisky
Auction: Lots 413 - 580 | 21 August 2024 at 10am
Description
of circular outline, bearing the engraved crest for the Lord High Admiral of Scotland, in a border modelled as a garter with anchor to a further border with the engraved Latin motto ‘SIGILLUM ADMIRALITATUS SCOTIAE’
Dimensions
6cm diameter 10oz (gross weight)
Provenance
The Matrix Collection
Lot 518 Keys Fine Art Auctioneers 2016
Footnote
The Lord High Admiral of Scotland was the Monarchs lieutenant and justice-general upon the high seas, the coast and the Kingdom. Following the Union of 1707 between Scotland and England, the High Court of Admiralty was amalgamated but Scotland continued to oversee the jurisdictions for any maritime law in Scotland. The office was formed in the early 15th century and was once held by the Earls of Bothwell and the Dukes of Lennox.
The date of this seal, highly likely the last ever issued for the position, is pertinent as in 1817 The Public Offices (Scotland) Act 1817 provided that no person thereafter appointed as Vice Admiral should receive a salary. Furthermore, the court was abolished in Edinburgh in 1830 when the court of Session was granted subject-matter-jurisdiction.
