A new late Anglo-Saxon seal matrix

Abstract

In 2010 a new late Anglo-Saxon seal matrix was found in Hampshire. The seal die is copper-alloy and engraved on both sides. On the obverse, it portrays and names a man called Ælfric, while the reverse is decorated with acanthus ornamentation characteristic of the later tenth- and eleventh-century ‘Winchester’ style. Unlike any other surviving English matrix of this period, it carries the remnants of gilding once applied across the surface and would thus have appeared to be made of gold. It is only the fourth known surviving Anglo-Saxon seal matrix, and the first to come to light in almost forty years.