Sharaf un-Nisa's seal made of sard or carnelian and gold; also included is a sample stamping of both seals. It is a dark orange sard or carnelian seal fob or pendant that has the following inscription: “Ba ul-Lutf Mustafa (14)” (By the kindness of Mustafa [meaning Muhammad] 14 [meaning 1214, which would be 1799].” The metal of the gold is delicate, and it is possible there is a maker’s mark on the loop where a chain would be threaded. This seems to be a remarkable combination of a Persian East India Company Seal with the “fob/pendant” trend of the 18th and 19th centuries in England. The seal could have belonged to either Gerard Gustavus or Elizabeth; it most likely belonged to Elizabeth. Persian script.
Language:
Persian
Provenance:
Palmer Family Archive, Devon, England; Elizabeth Sharaf un-Nisa Ducarel; Gerard Gustavus Ducarel
This seal resembles the following examples of carnelian Persian seal rings from the Qajar dynasty and prior to it: https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4893909. Also similar to the following: https://www.rubylane.com/item/518197-FBA24328VA/Victorian-Gold-Carnelian-Armorial-Seal-Fob#:~:text=This%20antique%20carnelian%20fob%20seal%20was%20made%20around,on%20the%20larger%20side%2C%20it%20weighs%208.2%20grams. Both sard and carnelian had been used for Persian seals because the stone does not stick to hot wax. These were generally regarded as talismans, or objects regarded to have magical powers. During the Regency era, most sealing wax, typically colored red or black for the public, did not include any wax, instead incorporating ingredients such as powdered chalk or gypsum and vermilion. Long, thick sticks of sealing wax would be placed above a fire to be pressed down by a seal such as this one. Whereas many other seals featured a family crest, this stamp included a reference to Mustafa, an alternate name of the prophet Muhammad meaning "chosen." It uses the Nasta'liq script, an elegant form of Persian calligraphy, to print the saying. The inscription includes 14 to mean the Hijri year 1214, or late 1799 in the Gregorian calendar, using the standard Islamic calendar.
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