Sunday, October 23, 2016

Post 8: Using a Wax Seal for Signature

   My intent was from the start to design a wax seal to sign the encaustic paintings. I have always loved old letters and old manuscript documents with Wax Seals. 
   In fact, I had one made a long time ago, but have not used it much because it is too plain. I also have a collection of Chinese seals, and had one made over there that is supposed to be my name...   There are several ways to apply the seal, first on the document itself:



     More important documents have a reenforced bottom flap around which run strips of velum on which the seal is applied with wax on both sides:



     This is an interesting "indentured" deed, which was cut in half in a zigzag pattern so the two halves could be matched. That's where the word indentured came from:



Some documents have strips cut directly out of them on which the seals are applied, but it seems rare:

   Finally some documents have a woven group of distinctive color threads run through holes in the reenforced bottom edge in various patterns, both ends are then woven together, and the seal is applied to these "pendants":


    There can be numerous long "pendants" with multiple seals, such as this amazing papal bulle:



   I like that very much, and would want to actually use a special cord woven out of colored threads, and actually running through four small holes in the corner of the painting in a consistent pattern such as this:


    I would like my seal to looks ancient, with may be a crest, an  ornate cross, Esoteric Symbols, my motto(Carpe Diem), and of course my name or initials. It would be applied directly to smaller pieces, but for larger pieces, I would use a plaid cord made of rainbow colored cotton or linen threads (a symbol of my palette). 
    Lets now look up close at some seals I particularly like:



   By and large, they are pretty simple, and I prefer them to the more ornate Heraldic seals:







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