An important Prussian Royal jewelled three-colour gold and hardstone desk seal, circa 1815-1820

the faceted slightly grey agate stem between gold mounts richly chased with coloured gold rose garlands on a sablé ground, further set with amethysts and surmounted by an onyx cameo of Cupid welcoming a friendly hound, the strip-pierced base similarly decorated and containing the large oval citrine matrix engraved with a coat of arms, unmarked, in a later Victorian leather case stamped 'Watherston & Son'

excellent condition and very fine chasing.
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The matrix is engraved with the arms  of Prussia within the chain of the order 'Pour le mérite', probably for Frederick William III (1770-1840), King of Prussia from 1797 until his death, encircled by the arms of the 21 Eastern and Western provinces and free towns, as assigned at the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

Frederick William succeeded to his father's throne in 1797, a difficult t.mes in war-torn Europe. He was determined to stamp out court and government abuses and is recorded as saying: 'Every civil servant has a dual obligation: to the sovereign and to the country. It can occur that the two are not compatible; then, the duty to the country is higher.'

He attempted to pursue a policy of neutrality during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars but reluctantly joined the war against the French Emperor in 1806. A few weeks later, the Prussian army was defeated at Jena and was forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty by which Prussia lost many of its territories, had to finance a large indemnity and to pay for French troops to occupy key points within the kingdom.

In 1813, following Napoleon's defeat in Russia, Frederick William turned against France again, signing an alliance with Russia. Prussian troops played a key part in the victories of the allies in 1813 and 1814 and, of course, under Field Marshal Blücher at Waterloo. The King was thus able to negotiate important territorial increases for Prussia at the Congress of Vienna, celebrated in the arms engraved on the matrix of this important desk seal.

As the seal is unmarked, it is not possible to know exactly where it was made. It is unlikely that it was ordered by the king himself in Berlin since he was notoriously frugal, having urged his compatriots to give up their gold and silver for the war effort and encouraging the manufacture of jewellery made of Prussian iron. It is most probable that it was given to Frederick William III after the Congress by one of his allies or, given its style, by a grateful French Royal Family.