NAVIGATION

The earliest use of the stamp seal seems to date to about 5000BC in Western Asia. Then in South Mesopotamia cylindrical seals became the standard form. The incised inscription on them would give the name, family name and profession of the owner and by rolling it on a damp clay, goods could be sealed and identified. With the development of heraldry in the later Middle Ages in Europe as a means of identification, all who were entitled to bear arms had seals and rings engraved with their armourial bearings. After the 18th century the need for seals and signet rings gradually became less essential, but there still remains to this day a vogue for them however rarely they are actually put to use.