Roman Bronze Stamp in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 2011

Bronze stamp

Period: Early Imperial

Date: 1st century A.D.

Culture: Roman

Medium: Bronze

Dimensions: Other: 3 7/16 in. (8.7 cm)

Classification: Bronzes

Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1930

Accession Number: 30.11.2

Description:

The inscription L*HER*FLO signifies Lucius Herennius Florus, the name of the owner of the villa at Boscoreale from which the Museum's frescoes come. The stamp was presumably his property and likely served as the official seal of the household used to mark provisions. On the ring in intaglio is a second seal in the form of a winged caduceus, the staff of Mercury, god of commerce. Many such bronze seals have been found in the excavations at the nearby towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, although stamps with intaglio on both ring and plate are less common.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/1300...