The seal of Hélène de Quincy: Models and influences
Type de matériel :
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Hélène de Quincy, widow of Alan II la Zouche, between 1286 and 1296 used a seal showing her standing, wearing an emblazoned dress, and holding two shields. One depicted her husband’s coat of arms. The other, renouncing her father’s coat of arms, was marked with a cinquefoil, family emblem of her grandmother, Marguerite de Beaumont-Leicester. The latter had the flower engraved on her seal, where she also appeared dressed in livery. Marguerite de Beaumont’s seal was probably a source of inspiration for Hélène de Quincy. Especially since she had inherited property from the Beaumont-Leicesters and managed donations from her grandmother to Saint-Evroult Abbey in Normandy. Other seals may also have influenced the image of Helen’s seal. Several ladies related to the Quincys adopted very similar representations. Rare on the continent, this type with a standing figure holding two shields by the point was quite popular in England’s court. In three cases, similarities between the seals (size, arrangement of the clothing, shields held by the point) suggest that the seal owners used the same engraving workshop as Hélène de Quincy.
Réseaux sociaux