Featured Unique Coat of Arms Seal from Poland - Three Axes and an Oak Tree

It's as I suspected. Ehe means marriage. I just need to figure out the rest of the page... My B2 level German has basically regressed to A1 level in the year since I studied in Germany...

 

@Barn Owl , here is my 2 cents worth .... and I only comment about the age and the relative damage and why some things rot and some things last under conditions they should not. 37 years ago when I was 21 my cousins grandmother died and they were left the house . It was next to creek and had a "root Cellar" which is an interesting feature on a California house next to a creek. In that root cellar were stacks and stacks of 1950's newspapers stacked like cord wood . Next to them was a wood cigar box with no lid, filled with civil war letters form Family members in Lansboro and Lowell , Mass that were sent back to California... all these people are buried in the local cemetery .... I also found a Photo book circa 1890 with Carte de viste ? and tintype photos. All of this was absolutely perfect , yet right next to it a diary from 1926 was worn eaten and deteriating . ( I still have all of this except the newspapers.... I think I have a few still stored away. ) Point being there is no way those should have survived for as long as they did , where they were ...but they did . That easily could be the victim of wood rot , just as my Spanish American War leather items are victim of brass leather verdigris even though stored in a safe out of the weather in a nice cool and non damp place . The corrosion on the plating / brass looks as legit as most I have seen on things left in semi damp places , and I have seen a lot over the years of antiquing and flea marketing. The person on ebay has 100% feedback: doesn't raise too many red flags with me . Did you ask them how or where they came upon this ???

I think it is wonderful , and for $83 didn't break the bank , looks legit to me , definitely worth $83 for a cool glass / amethyst carved seal , definitly worth the price for the fun and thrill of the search to find out who or what the seal means / pertains too. Now comes the time to decide whether to leave as be or restore / clean / rehandle ..... I myself might clean and rehandle but keep the old wood "just because"..... if it was a museum piece, leave as is ..... have fun..look forward reading if you find out who it belonged too.....

 

@Bronwen
The mystery prevails: under all that grime, the metal is silver-colored. After carefully removing the remnant of the wooden handle (held in place with pitch), I polished the tarnish. I was shocked to see silver shine through. I still need to test it for silver content. I'll send pictures once I finish polishing it.

 

Does removal of the handle mean that there is now some access to the faceted side of the matrix? Ooh, this is fun (with you doing all the work.)

 

Unfortunately not. When I look into the hollow tube of the handle, I see a glint of silver through the pitch. I think that there is a solid metal back that prevents me from accessing the back of the matrix.