Signet Matrix: Seal Matrix possibly featuring the head of George III

An oval seal matrix made of clear white glass, stamped but unfinished, and dating from c 1800. The matrix features a design which may be the head of King George III.

Seal matrices also known as signet matrices were used to impress their owner’s mark into wax on documents during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many were made of moulded translucent glass. Little is known of their manufacture. They seem to have been produced for personal rather than commercial use. Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery acquired a collection of twenty-seven seal matrices in 1934. This is one of the items.