Sir Walter Scott's rare 200-year-old desk seal fetches almost £14k at auction

A rare 200 year old desk seal belonging to Sir Walter Scott has fetched almost £14,000 at auction.

The decorative seal, used to seal letters with wax, is believed to date back to the Border literary legend's knighthood in 1820. 

It is set in lapis lazuli, gold and amethyst stones and bears the writer’s family coat of arms.

It was part of the Matrix Collection - made up of a hundred desk seals gathered over several decades by the late David Morris, an avid collector who amassed the seals for their historical interest as well as their beauty.

The objects - all with a Scottish connection - went under the hammer online on Friday 19 May and sold for £13,860.

Scott's personal seal from Abbotsford House in the Borders fetched the highest price, alongside a late 19th rock crystal and multi-gem set desk seal owned by Lady Mary Douglas-Hamilton, which sold for exactly the same amount. 

A prolific writer of letters, it is said to be likely the seal was also used in correspondence to King George IV, which led to Scott organising a royal visit to Scotland - complete with tartan pageantry which resulted in the elevation of the kilt to national dress. 

Wax seals were widely used from the Middle Ages until the 19th Century by which time letters could be safely sealed with glue.

Edinburgh based auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull who conducted the sale said seals had recently undergone "something of a revival", with a new generation of enthusiasts using them for wedding invitations and other special occasion correspondence.

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