Resin seals are very rare - although one of them is presented in the exhibit. It is distinguished by its reddish brown pigment and has the shape of a dog's head. The iconography of these seals frequently proves astonishingly multifarious. And often they testify to the interplay of heathen and Christian traditions. It is turned to the left, with its right hand held up.
Peacocks symbolize eternal life.
The magical function of seals is not to be underestimated in the sealing of documents. Seals were often decorated with magical symbols, in the hopes of conferring the power of dispelling evil on them. Most of the objects presented in the Papyrus Museum had not been processed scientifically and were largely unknown. In the Austrian National Library in cooperation with the Austrian Academy of Sciences Committee on Byzantine Studies September 20 - December 31, 1999.