Guild of the Holy Cross seal

Description

A wax impression from the 15th-century seal matrix of the Guild of the Holy Cross, Stratford-upon-Avon. (The matrix is now in the British Museum). Circular, measuring 2 inches in diameter. It features, in the centre, a representation of Christ on the cross between the Virgin Mary (with a halo and a book) on one side and, on the other, St. John the Baptist with halo, Agnus Dei and banner, the patrons of the amalgamated guilds, all within a canopied tabernacle of five arches with pinnacles and crockets. In the field are the sun and crescent moon. The background consists of a draperied diamond pattern with a small mullet in each interstice. In the base is a sprig of foliage., 1868 Catalogue description - 'A fine impression from the seal of the ancient Guild of the Holy Cross, Stratford-on-Avon'.