Intaglios set in medieval seal matrices: indicators of political power and social status?
The contribution discusses a seal matrix, said to have been found ‘near Norfolk’ in the early 1980s, set with an inscribed Arabic cornelian intaglio. The matrix is of bronze and its Latin inscription is not unusual and reads: Ie Sv Sel Bon E Lel (I am a seal good and loyal). Seal matrices of this type employing re-used gems are not rare and similar objects have been found in Norfolk. What renders this example special is its gem which contributes to the archaeology of Islamic contacts in Britain.