Seal

I am currently treating a 17th or 18th century anonymous wooden
panel, depicting Jesus Christ, that has a little red seal on the
back of th panel. This seal is oval in shape, about 3 cm wide, and
features a blurred profile portrait bust, facing left.  The gender
is difficult to determine but it may be a male.  It seems that this
person may be wearing a cap. The hair is shoulder length and curly.
The panel has been thinned in the past and three transverse bars
have been installed. Also, the back of the panel has been coated
with a preparation layer and an opaque brownish-yellow paint-layer.
The bars are also coated with the same paint and preparation. While
I know that seals are not rare, they are not frequently encountered
on restored panel paintings. Could this seal be from a previous
restorer or collector?  Has anyone encountered something similar?  I
have digital pictures available if anyone would like to see them.

Eloise Paquette
Painting conservation intern
Quebec Conservation Center
Quebec City, Canada


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 17:2
                  Distributed: Thursday, June 19, 2003
                        Message Id: cdl-17-2-024
                                  ***