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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bronwen, post: 1634744, member: 5833&quot;]I&#039;ve been thinking about these all afternoon &amp; still not sure what to tell you about them.&nbsp; Only the 2 red ones really qualify as seals, &amp; then only if they were ever actually used in the way genuine seals are, to validate the authenticity of something.&nbsp; There&#039;s a whole field of study, sigilography, that takes them up.&nbsp; The others would all be considered impressions of engraved gems &amp; so would the red ones if they were only made to show what the seal looked like.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have one of these with white on red.&nbsp; It&#039;s a strange material, very thin &amp; light in weight, that seems like it should be fragile &amp; brittle but is instead quite plastic &amp; resilient.&nbsp; Mine is a bit cupped; found no way to flatten it.&nbsp; This is the first time I have seen ones in these Wedgwood blues &amp; blacks &amp; lavenders. I think the material is &#039;sulphur&#039;, sometimes called &#039;sulphur wax&#039;, but the final red product is not what you think of as waxy.&nbsp; I have no idea how the pieces here that are not red were made.</p><p><br /></p><p>Like you, I have not seen these on line, only <a href="https://art.thewalters.org/detail/96217/drawer-of-gem-impressions/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://art.thewalters.org/detail/96217/drawer-of-gem-impressions/" rel="nofollow">the type shown here</a>, much thicker, with the gold paper collars.&nbsp; As you can see, these impressions are not the most accurate, with spots dropping out of the white layer.&nbsp; Suspect the technique was developed to compete with the gem impressions being made by Tassie &amp; others &amp; madly collected by the public at large, but results generally not satisfactory so never caught on.</p><p><br /></p><p>I would class these as a really interesting novelty for someone like me who&#039;s interested in the history as well as in the gems themselves.&nbsp; Without anything to compare them to, no past auction outcomes, it&#039;s impossible to value them.&nbsp; Intrinsic value is nil.&nbsp; There&#039;s nothing among the subjects to give them exceptional interest, quite a miscellany.&nbsp; Unless any frames add value, I would say low end of estimate range is reasonable if you want them as a curiosity for yourself.&nbsp; I would not count on resale value, although might do well in front of the right audience.&nbsp; Right now they&#039;re decor.</p><p><br /></p><p>Is that indecisive enough for you?&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/smilies/smile.png" class="mceSmilie" alt=":)" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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