Monaco Grimaldi - Unique Seal Of Alliance 1648 Henry De Matignon And Marie Françoise Le Tellier

MONACO GRIMALDI - Unique seal of alliance from 1648 of Henry de Matignon and Marie-Françoise Le Tellier

Coat of arms in solid silver from the 17th century, presenting the arms of the families of Matignon Goyon (Gouyon) and Le Tellier – Du Bec
Topped with a ducal crown and flanked by branches connected by a knot.

A major and unique piece which will delight great collectors of princely and royal seals of high lineage or ideally the heirs of these great families whose main current representatives are the descendants of the Monegasque Grimaldi - De Matignon family.

Weight of the solid silver seal 6.32 grams
Dimensions approximately 1.7 x 2.7 cm
Some photos have been reversed to allow direct reading and understanding of the matrix, obviously a seal is always engraved in "negative".

The matrix of the seal is in a very good state of conservation, we can easily clearly distinguish the heraldic elements which allowed this research and precise identification. The stem of the seal is in used condition, it is an object which has been dated exactly to the year of marriage, i.e. 1648.

The uniqueness and prestige of this piece will justify a significant sale price.

Fast and well protected delivery
Delivery costs payable by the purchaser
Fully insured worldwide delivery

Heraldic description

Heraldic glossary
Quartered or quartered, in the four corners of a coat of arms
Lampassé, who sticks out his tongue
Perished staff, short line often diagonally in the center of a coat of arms
Lambel is a piece of furniture made up of a horizontal net with rectangular or trapezoidal pendants, generally placed in chief (at the top of the coat of arms)
Mouth, red color
Tapered, succession of diamond shapes, generally vertical

The two coats of arms

The coat of arms of Matignon of Brittany and Normandy is quartered, at 1 and 4, argent, with the langued lion crowned with gules (Goyon family), at 2, of Orléans-Longueville which is azure, with three flowers- gold lily and peri stick in silver band, surmounted by a label of three silver pendants, likewise at 3, of Bourbon-Saint-Pol

The coat of arms of Le Tellier / Du Bec is quartered, with at 1 and 4 the four quartered lions of the Marquis de la Luthumière and at 2 and 3, tapered (lozenge) argent and gules for the Du Bec family

The spouses

Henri (Lonray, August 10, 1633 - 1682), Lord of Matignon and de la Roche-Goyon, Count of Thorigny, Marquis of Lonray, Baron of Saint-Lô, Moyon and la Roche-Tesson, Marquis de la Luthumière, etc. .
Lieutenant general of Normandy, governor of Cherbourg, Granville and Saint-Lô, mestre-de-camp of the royal cavalry regiment, state councilor in 1658, having served in the attack on the lines of Arras in 1654, at the capture of Montmedy , Gravelines and Dunkirk in 1658, distinguishing themselves in the rout of the Count of Marsin in 1667.

Henri de Matignon married in 1648 to Marie-Françoise le Tellier, lady of La Luthumière, only daughter and heiress of François le Tellier, marquis de la Luthumière and Charlotte du Bec.

You can still admire the statue of Henri II de Matignon at the Saint-Lô museum, see the photo associated with this sale.


Grimaldi and Monaco

It was later, in the 18th century, that we found the union between the Matignon family, originally from Normandy, and the princely Grimaldi family of Monaco. The visits of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, among others to Torigni sur Vire, remain a testimony to the still important connection between Monaco and Normandy.

François de Matignon (1607 1675) had a lineage of ten children, including his main successor Henry (the owner of this seal) and Jacques III (1644 1725) at the origin of the branch of the counts of Torigni, his son Jacques François Léonor de Matignon (1689 1751) married Louise-Hippolyte of Monaco.

In 1715, Crown Princess Grimaldi wanted to get married. Women could pass on the throne provided that the husband lost his name and coat of arms to become a Grimaldi. The Matignon family, struggling to climb the ladder of nobility titles, accepted this alliance.

The titles of Count of Torigni, Baron of Saint-Lô, de la Luthumière and of Hambye and Duke of Estouteville that the Matignons bore were then found in the princely family of Monaco and in the groom's basket were therefore also territories in Normandy and Brittany...

As an amusing conclusion, a premonitory coat of arms for the alliance of the Matignon and Grimaldi families in the 18th century, the Du Bec family, although a parallel branch, wore the same colors as the Grimaldi family with a tapered (diamond) coat of arms of silver and gules!

About the Goyon-Matignon family, it is one of the oldest and most illustrious houses in Brittany. We cite among its members: Goyon, first banneret of Brittany, who, it is said, repulsed the Normans from the provinces, in 931, and built the castle of La Roche-Goyon which