A WILLIAM III OVAL LIVERY BADGE, MAKER'S MARK PR ONLY, POSSIBLY FOR PHILIP ROLLOS, LONDON, CIRCA 1695

A WILLIAM III OVAL LIVERY BADGE
MAKER'S MARK PR ONLY, POSSIBLY FOR PHILIP ROLLOS, LONDON, CIRCA 1695
Embossed and chased with the Royal arms of William III and Edward the Confessor above a scene of the Royal Exchequer in Westminster Hall with Latin inscription to the border, set into a later leather desk blotter applied at each corner with a silver-plated bosse, marked on plaque
22 x 19cm. (8 5/8 x 7½in.)
The inscription reads 'Ingrediens Janis, Rediture Sis Emalus Argi' which translates as 'May you rival Janus as you enter, and Argus as you leave'. This inscription was carved in the 13th century above the door of the Receipt of The Exchequer in Westminster Hall. Janus is the god of gateways depicted with two faces, looking back into the old year and forward into the new, while Argus is the giant with one hundred eyes always alert and guarding.

Provenance

Possibly Sir Benjamin Bathurst Kt., M.P., (c.1639-1704) who held numerous positions at court from 1682, including as Cofferer to Her Majesty's Household, during the reign of Queen Anne, and by descent in the Bathurst family.