Seal matrix of the Church Administration of the Wilanów Parish

In the collection of the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów, almost forty sphragistics pieces – seals or seal matrixes – have survived. The term ‘sphragistics’ is derived from the Greek word ‘sphragis’ standing for a seal (alternatively called sigillography after the Latin word ‘sigillum’) and defines the branch of auxiliary historical sciences where research focuses on interpreting the meaning of seals and determining the circumstances of their creation. The history of sphragistics dates back to the 19th century; at that time, it was noticed that seals could serve as a valuable source material contributing knowledge on political, heraldic and diplomacy arrangements as well as other motifs concerning the past.

The set of seals and seal matrixes preserved in the collection of the Museum dates back to the 18th century. Seals and matrixes are connected not only with the Wilanów estate. The set contains objects that can be associated with specific persons – the owners of Wilanów in the context of posts held by them, but also objects that document the system of administering estates and their functioning, not only the Wilanów estate.

The seal matrix shown here was intended for the impression of the seal in ink. The round brass matrix is concavely engraved (which means that the content that should be read after being impressed is cut in the flat surface). The seal has a profiled wooden mushroom-shaped handle. In the seal field, we can see the coat of arms of the Warsaw Governorate: on a French modern escutcheon (the name determines the shape of the escutcheon), in the blue field, there is a grain sheaf cut in half with a river belt. The escutcheon is topped with an imperial crown and flanked on both sides by branches with oak leaves tied with an order ribbon. At one side of the matrix, there is the manufacturer’s mark reading: Z. WEINKRANZ / VARSOVIE. It was an active sealer operating in Warsaw in the late 19th century, which is evidenced by a large group of products signed by him that have survived until today. Weinkrantz signed his matrixes on the edge: Z. Weinkrantz or Z. Weinkrantz Varsovie. (J. Giersz, Seals: unappreciated and largely unknown activity of the Warsaw Mint, in: ‘Biuletyn Numizmatyczny’, 2018). The seal refers to the parish church of Saint Anne in Wilanów.