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Roman Lead Seal, Salus & Asclepius 3rd-4th Cent AD
Lead; 20mm/8.8gm, glossy sand patina and awesome in hand.
This seal features a pair of personifications; IE Salus, the Roman Goddess of health and is commonly represented as holding or feeding a snake and Asclepius, the Greek God of Health and Medicine who was also represented with snakes.
In fact, it is from the ancient images of Asclepius that modern doctors/pharmacies use the image of his staff, with a sacred snake coiled around it, still to this day.
On our seal, we see Salus on left feeding a snake held in hand and Asclepius on right holding his snake-coiled staff.
So, who used this seal way back in the day?
Our best guess is that it was the personal seal of a well-to-do doctor or perhaps a merchant who dealt in medical supplies?