Seal matrix of August Potocki

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 for which the matrix shown here has survived was used by August Potocki (1805–1867), the owner of Wilanów from 1840. The matrix is round. The handle is missing. In the seal field, a French modern escutcheon is engraved (such is the term for the shape used in the escutcheon), and inside the escutcheon, on the blue field, there is the Pilawa coat of arms of the Potocki family (the shape is described as two and a half of a cross). The escutcheon is topped with a nine-stick count’s crown with five ostrich feathers. Around the escutcheon, there is a circumscription in majuscules in Russian that indicates the character of the seal: the home office of Count Potocki.