THE 2ND DUKE OF WELLINGTON (1807-1884) DESK SEAL
A MID19TH CENTURY LAPIS LAZULI AND BLOODSTONE DESK SEAL, CIRCA 1855
£2,268
Auction: 17 October 2023 from 10:00 BST
Description
The facetted lapis lazuli handle to a fluted mount, the octagonal bloodstone matrix engraved with the Arms of Wellesley, the Dukes of Wellington
Dimensions
Length: 11.1cm, matrix: 3cm x 2.1cm
Footnote
Heraldry:
Arms: Quarterly, 1st and 4th Gules a cross argent between five plates in saltire in each quarter (for Wellesley) 2nd and 3rd Or a lion rampant gules (for Colley) and as an honourable augmentation over all in the centre chief point an escutcheon charged with the union
The arms are ensigned with a coronet of a duke.
Crest: Out of a ducal coronet or a demi-lion rampant gules holding in the paws a forked pennon argent flowing to the sinister charged with the cross of St George the ends gules
Motto: Virtutis fortuna comes [Fortune is the companion of valour]
Supporters: Two lions gules gorged with Eastern coronets and chained or
Note:
Based on the arms engraved upon the matrix of this personal seal, it was most probably in the possession of Arthur Richard Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington (1807-1884). The eldest son of the famous 1st Duke of Wellington the hero of 19th century British naval history. The seal can be tightly dated to a four-year period when Arthur had inherited the title of Duke from his father but before 1858 when he was appointed Knight of the Garter and his arms would have been augmented to show this. Known as Lord Douro between 1812-1814, before becoming the Marquess of Douro until he succeeded his father to the Dukedom in 1852. He followed his father, victor of Waterloo and former prime minister, into both a military and a political career, though never quite achieving anything like the 1st Duke successes. He was however, a keen collector of antique intaglios and an active patron of contemporary craftsmen in that field.