Bidspirit auction | 1578-1611 Group of Imperial and

1578-1611 Group of Imperial and Municipal Seal Casts, Mixed Media - This lot features a group of relief-molded casts of historical royal and municipal seals. The collection is executed in various materials and finishes, including off-white plaster, a bronze-toned material, grey plaster, and a red-orange composition, likely wax or sulfur. The largest item is an off-white cast identified by handwritten German script on the reverse as the Great Imperial Seal (Grobes Kaisersiegel) of Rudolf II from the Reichshofkanzlei (Imperial Court Chancery), dating from 1578 to 1611. Its obverse depicts a crowned imperial double-headed eagle with a central coat of arms, surrounded by a Latin legend. A second large cast in a gold-tone finish features an enthroned Maximilian II with scepter and orb. Other items in the group include a grey cast of a city seal featuring a three-towered gateway and the legend + CIVITHS REGIS REGVM OMNIVM, a cast for Wenceslaus showing an enthroned figure, a smaller red-orange cast displaying a heraldic shield with three chevrons, and a small off-white cast portraying a bearded figure holding a book with the partial inscription SIGILLVM. Largest cast: 4.5 inches (114 mm) diameter Gold-tone cast: 3.5 inches (89 mm) diameter Smaller casts: 1.5 inches to 2.5 inches (38 mm to 64 mm) diameter. The items exhibit varying degrees of surface soiling and light foxing, particularly visible on the reverse of the plaster casts. Minor edge wear and small chips are present on the plaster and composition surfaces. The relief detail remains well-preserved and inscriptions are generally legible.