Seal or stamp * bronze with a coat of arms surmounted by a helmet and forming knight arms, neck bones (beef), XIXth century.
This seal is in good condition.
A note: traces of glue between shaft and seal, scratches and slight wear of time, see pictures.
Collectible whose oldest examples date back four millennia BCE. The seal was first used for affixing the personal stamp of a character to ensure the contents of a box or envelope, the authenticity of a document. It also also used the term seal. The little personal touch is indeed used in Europe since the Middle Ages. It can be an intaglio ring mounted a hard stone, or a gold kitten etched intaglio (signet are something else!). But there are many more-fitted seals, made of a hard stone engraved intaglio: carnelian, garnet, sapphire, rock crystal, agate; some are even ancient intaglios. These little pills are sometimes jewelry that is dangling from a chain or the lady; such as boxes, it is often a gift item. These fees vary in size: one is in the tiny embedded in beautiful frames of chased gold, other 1.5 to 2cm in diameter mounted on a handful of gold, of pomponne, chased silver, nacre, hard stone, wood ...
** Arms: in terms of heraldry and collectibles, rather they say "weapons". For an object being emblazoned is a quality that can be a source of a slight gain. A coat of arms surmounted by a crown of count or marquis, always flatters the vanity of its owner. The presence of weapons is often a sign of quality and allows to establish the provenance of an object, however, provided to engage in a heraldic research. (See Larousse antiques and flea market).