Henri IV — French Figural Desk Seal in Gilt & Silvered Bronze, Late 19th Century

Henri IV — French Figural Desk Seal in Gilt & Silvered Bronze, Late 19th Century

A wonderfully sculptural antique desk seal (cachet à cire) modeled as a portrait bust of Henri IV, the first Bourbon king of France. The king is shown in the late-Renaissance manner — bearded, in a pleated ruff and ornate parade cuirass — his armor centered by the radiant breast star of the Ordre du Saint-Esprit, the most senior order of French chivalry and an emblem worn only by the sovereign himself. It’s a detail that quietly does a lot of work: it marks the sitter as a French monarch and roots the piece firmly in the romantic, royalist “souvenir” taste that flourished in 19th-century France.

The bust is finished in two tones to striking effect — warm gilding across the face, hair, and drapery set against a cooler silvered ground — and rises from a turned, knopped gilt-brass handle. The modeling is crisp and characterful throughout, with real heft in the hand. Cast in gilt and silvered bronze, unmarked, as these decorative seals typically were.

Beneath the handle, the working matrix is engraved with an elegant entwined monogram that strikes a clean, deep impression in wax — equally at home sealing correspondence today or simply standing as a small piece of sculpture on a desk or bookshelf.

A larger and notably finer example of the form, and an uncommon subject — a quietly regal object for a collector of seals, French decorative arts, or royal portraiture. 

• Subject: Henri IV of France, bust in armour with the star of the Order of the Holy Spirit

• Material: Gilt and silvered bronze (parcel‑gilt), unmarked

• Origin / period: French, late 19th century

• Height: approx. 3½ in. 

• Matrix: Engraved entwined monogram; strikes a crisp wax impression (impression shown)