Seal of Erasmus of Rotterdam

Erasmus had this seal made to press his emblem into the warm wax that fastened his correspondences and other documents. Here Terminus is represented simply as a herm, a pedestal with a head. An inscription on the base identifies the Roman god while his head is framed by an abbreviated form of Erasmus’s personal motto, Cedo nulli (I yield to no one).

Unknown maker
Seal of Erasmus of Rotterdam (and modern impression), ca. 1513–19
Silver
Historisches Museum Basel; 1893.364

©Historisches Museum Basel, Peter Portner