Basic info

Collection

Archaeology

Object name

Seal matrix

Object category

Medieval

Description

Ivory seal of tax collector Snarrus, showing Snarrus incised in retrograde, facing forward but with his head turned to the right. He is wearing a long tunic, hanging past the knees and gathered at the waist. His right hand is resting upon the hip whilst his left is outstretched and holding a large stylised coin bag. Three ring-and-dot motifs appear above the bag and may be interpreted as coins. An inscription, written in Lombardic Capitals, is inscribed circumferentially around the front face. A thin line had been incised prior to the inscription, as a guide. Both of the figure’s feet extend into the line of the inscription, between two words. The name Snarrus is the “Latinised form of the Scandinavian name Snare or Snorri, which is know both as a forename and a nickname, meaning “shrewd”… the name appears in York from the time of the Domesday Book (1086) Kyriacou, Mee and Rogers, 2004, p100

Production date start

1100

Production date end

1199

Period

Medieval