Befitting its royal owner, Sultan Abdülhamid II (r. 1876-1909), this fob seal made an impressive status symbol even when not in use. The small link at the top suggests that the seal was likely worn on a chain suspended from the waistband or neck. The handle is in the form of rococo foliage and blossoms, which echo motifs from the interior decoration of contemporaneous Ottoman palaces, like Dolmabahce. The gold mount holds a rock-crystal stamp that acts simultaneously as the end of an attractive pendant and a multi-faced seal.
Multi-faced seals were often used among Ottoman palace officials and royalty during the second half of the nineteenth century. Unlike rings or single-stamp seals, this design incorporates a kinetic pivot, which allows the owner to rotate the seal to three different faces; each presents a distinct formulation of the Sultan’s name in nasta‘liq script. The first side reads: "Abdülhamid, son of Gazi Abdülmecid." The next face offers his name with the seal’s date, "Abdülhamid, 1307 [1898]." Finally, the third face appears to read, “al-Hamid.” The last text likely plays on both the Sultan’s name and its relation to the Arabic name of God meaning, “The Praiseworthy One.”
