Richard Rawlinson and his seal matrices

The Rawlinson collection in the University of Oxford is the most important surviving early collection of European seal matrices. Created by Dr. Richard Rawlinson (1690-1755) in the first half of the eighteenth century, it consists of 830 matrices ranging from the Thirteenth to the early Eighteenth century. It contains examples from across Europe, including England, France, Germany, Spain, Scandinavia, Scotland and particularly Italy. Four introductory chapters will place the collection in the cultural history of the period. A fifth chapter will discuss its contribution to the sigillography of the different countries represented. One hundred seals will be described in detail and fully illustrated.