Seal Matrix with Abbot William of Gross St. Martin and Saint Martin

Seal Matrix with Abbot William of Gross St. Martin and Saint Martin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Affixing a wax seal to documents both authenticates and secures the document and also identifies the author or sender. According to the inscription, this rare ivory seal matrix, seen here with a wax impression from it, was made for Abbot William (“William, by the grace of God, Abbot of St. Martin”) of the powerful Benedictine abbey in Cologne. Pictured on the reverse is the abbey’s patron, Saint Martin.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Seal Matrix with Abbot William of Gross St. Martin and Saint MartinSeal Matrix with Abbot William of Gross St. Martin and Saint MartinSeal Matrix with Abbot William of Gross St. Martin and Saint MartinSeal Matrix with Abbot William of Gross St. Martin and Saint MartinSeal Matrix with Abbot William of Gross St. Martin and Saint Martin

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.