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History
of the "Standard" Trademark
Every page of this
website carries the Company's Trademark from the early twenties.
Have you ever wondered how the image came to be used?.....
From the:
The Essex County Standard, West
Suffolk Gazette and Eastern.......December 1920
Roman Antiquities offered for
sale
Claim to be relics of Boudicea’s
Victory near Colchester
Curious Result at London
Saleroom
At Sotheby’s in
London on Tuesday Dec 7th, the Roman Standard, Roman
general’s Chair and the so called "Iron spike for the base of
the shaft" of the Standard were offered by Auction These
antiquities and their supposed connection with Essex and Boudicea
were referred to last week in our "Colchester and County
Notes" and further comment will be found in that column in our
present issue.
Though catalogued
separately as an independent sale of one lot, the sale was really
interpolated in the auction of other antiquities, Grecian, Roman and
Egyptian and there was a considerable attendance present.
Major Warre was the
Auctioneer in charge of the sale.
It cannot be said
however that the sale caused great interest. The auctioneer wasted
no words. There was no glowing eulogy of the "venerated
insignia" It was simply mentioned that they would be sold in
one lot and offers were invited; £200 was suggested "to begin
with" and then "one hundred". At £100 a start was
made, and the price was advanced by bids of £120, £130, £140,
£150 and £160. "Very slow bidding" remarked the
auctioneer. Further advances bought the aount to £200 and after a
short pause it was knocked down at that figure, the purchaser being
announced as Mr Holdsworth.But it has been intimated since that the
relics were not really cold, but were withdrawn at that sum,which
apparently considerably less than the reserve.
The "sale"
had occupied about 5 minutes.
Amongst the company
present were several visitors from Colchester, including Mr W,
Gurney Benham (Chairman of the Colchester Museum Committee, Mr A.M.
Jarmin, (Deputy Chairman) and Mr A . G. Wright (Curator of the
Colchester Museum ) and Mr Seymour Luca R.A., Mr F. Harman Oates
(keeper of the London Museum) Mr Miller Christy, F.I.S.
The Standard and the
Camp Chair were announced as the property of Mr Ernest Seltman,
Fellow of the Society of Antiquries in France, Fellow of the Royal
Numismatic Society.Member of the American Numismatic Society etc.
WHAT THE CATALOGUE
STATED
Both objects, it was
stated "were for a long time in the possession of an English
Antiquarian. Who made private excavations in Essex in 1827, but
their full importance was not realised until they came into the
possession of the present owner.
The catalogue added
"Such venerated insignia as a Standard and a Gereral’s
Official chair could only have been lost by the Romans in some
important defeat. Dated as they are by the portrait of the Emperor
Nero in the medallion forming part of the Standard. it seems
probable that they were lost in the sole military disaster which
overtook the Romans in that Emperors reign – the annihilation by
Boudicea, Queen of the Iceni, of the ninth Legion, on the way to
relieve Colchester in AD 61 ( Tacitus Annals xiv, 32). While the
Governor Pauline was leading an expedition against Anglesey,
Boudicea roused the Iceni to attack Colchester. After having burnt
the city and massacred the inhabitants, the Britons turned on
Petilius Cerealls, legate of the Ninth Legion, who was advancing to
relieve Colchester. The Romans were taken by suprise. The cavalry
escaped but the Legion was destroyed.
As far as known there
is no other complete Roman Standard in existence. Two fragments are
mentioned in the catalogue as having been recorded:
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The silver arm of
a standard with tablet reported to have been offered for sale by
Auction in London in 1906.
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A silver plaque
inscribed C. O. H. V and a disc attached fond neqr "Neuweid
on the Rhine, and catalogued as in the collection of the Prince
of Nuweid
There is no other
instance recorded of the existence of a Roman General's chair. .part
from the perishable wooden shaft and banner, the original standard
is complete.
This and the chair –
the official "Sella Castrensis" of a Roman Commander –
are thus regarded as unique.
THE
"REVERSE" OF THE COIN MEDALLION OF STANDARD
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This was
described as representing the Emperor Nero as Triumphator in
a 4-horsed triumphal car, holding palm branch and wreath.
The
"emperors" head and also the palm branch and
wreath, the reine, and the body of the car are inlaid in
gold; the wheel and the "emperor’s "mantle in
silver; the horses in blac enamel. |
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DESCRIPTION OF THE
STANDARD
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The
proportions of the standard are height 17 in width 8 in.
The Standard
is of yellow bronze. Standing one above the other in the
same plane are four bronze wreathes of laurel leaves and
berries, each wreath so proportioned that it would, if
separated, fit into the inner circle of the wreath below. On
each wreath are raised ribbon bands "I" above and
"X" below, which according to the auctioneers,
represents the number of the Legion "IX", the
figures appear to be merely representations of ribbons on
the wreath and this identification with the 9th
Legion is therefore imaginary. Between the third and the
lowest wreath is a triangular pediment of bars with pendent
bars at each corner of the pediment, suggesting a shrine for
the Imperial effigy within. In the lowest wreath is slung an
inlaid medallion in a frame 3.1 inches in diameter, the
weight of the frame being counterbalanced at the back by a
thick bronze ring attached to it by three eyelets. The spots
where the eyelets were attached still show on the frame. |
The medallion itself
is a sestertius of Nero whose head is turned upwards, i.e. facing
the top of the standard; legend:-
NERO CLAUDIVS CAESER
AUG IMP TR POT P.P.
In place of the usual
reverse of the sestertius is an inlaid design, resembling in
technique Myceniean Damascene work :- The Emperor as Triumphator in
a four horsed triumphal car advancing to right and holding
palm-branch and laurel wreath, the horses in black enamel; the
triumphant charioteer’s head , palm-branch and wreath, the body of
the car and the reins in gold; the wheels and the mantle in silver.
Beneath the lowest
wreath of the Standard is the socket, drilled with two nail holes,
into which the original shaft once fitted.
The catalogue adds
" An iron spike, 101/2 inches long for the base of the shaft,
is triangular in section , and has three bars (two incomplete0
projecting at right angles from the upper portion in order to
prevent the Standard being sunk too deep into the ground. The iron
spike is corroded. The Standard is perfectly preserved and finely
patinated."
| The "iron
spike" seems to have been wrongly identified as such
and wrongly connected with the Standard. It had every
appearance of being the remains of a medieval stiletto. |
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DESCRIPTION OF THE
GENERAL’S CAMP CHAIR
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Height folded
2 feet;dimensions open, 17 inches high, 17 inches deep. The
chair is of wrought iron, overlaid with silver and an alloy
of gold and bronze.
In design he
chair is the precursor of the modern camp stool.the legs of
which fold into two pairs, but it has a further improvement
in that the horizontal bars are provided with hinges. The
two pairs of legs can therefore fold again, the whole
forming one compact bundle.
The original
hinge rivets are still in working order. The four lesgs ae
decorated, at the top with the heads of the bald Selini, the
eyebrows and beards bearing the traces of gold inlay. The
feet are formed like horses hoofs. The whole of the three
outside surfaces of the iron legs are coated with silver
inlaid wih a simple design in an alloy of gold and bronze
(The red leather cross straps have been recently added to
represent the original perishable seat) |
The chair is complete
but for a portion of two of the lateral hinged bars, and it is in
fine preservation – thanks to the coating of silver.
PREVIOUS
"PUBLICATION" OF THE ANTIQITIES.
These antiquities
(stated the catalogue) are published in the Daremberg and Saglio’s
Dictionary of Antiquities (published at Paris, 1913) where the
Standard is "erroneously described" as being in a museum
at Brussls (Musée du Cinquantenaire) ;also in the "Babelon
Traite" 1901, vol I, P. 669 ; in "Bulletin de la Societé
natinale des Antiquaires de Franc" 1901.
In recognition of the
importance of his discoveries he owner ( Mr Seltman ) was presented
(in 1901) with the Silver medal of the Société des Antiquairies of
Franc. The two antiquities were exhibited by him to that society and
were then described as having been found in England.
Webmasters comments:
The article above is
peppered with scepticism with regard to the origin of these
purported Roman artifacts. To counterbalance that view, one would
have hoped that Sothebys would have satisfied themselves with the
authenticity of the Standard and the chair. However, they certainly
wouldn’t be the first people ever to be fooled by con-men.
You will note that the
Medallion that filled the centre of the largest wreath on the
Standard is not included in the company’s emblem, so must have
become separated from it at some point.
The whole subject of
what the Standards of the various Roman legions consisted of is also
a matter of conjecture, though I have found reference to the IXth
legion’s comprising of an eagle, thus contradicting the view here.
Indeed there is still some doubt that the IXth legion was wiped out
by Boudicea, though there is no doubt that Colchester itself was
sacked by the native Iceni
I have no knowledge of
how the Standard became associated with the Company or where it is
today, so, imposter or not, if you have any information, I would be
grateful to hear of it.
Here is evidence of
the adoption of the Standard as the Company's trademark from a
company document:
(Click on the document
for enlarged text)
Phil Homer
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Factories
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