A unique stamp from the January Uprising period made in April/May 1864 in Paris for the representative of the Insurgent National Government to the Vatican, Gabriel Luniewski (born around 1820, died 1868 in Pisa). Herbu Lukocz. An activist of the Hôtel Lambert (run by Adam Jerzy Czartoryski) in Paris, one of the delegates sent to various regions of Europe to shape favorable attitudes to the Polish cause, gain information on the balance of power and political sentiment in the international arena.
Seal of the representative of the National Government to the Vatican, Gabriel Luniewski, appointed Diplomatic Agent on October 29, 1863. He arrived in Rome on December 14, 1863, but was not recognized by the papal court as Diplomatic Agent. The National Government renamed Luniewski as Political Agent on February 22, 1864, instructing him to replace the earlier seal (Diplomatic Agent) with a corresponding one (Political Agent) ordered in Paris through Charles Ruprecht. The new seal (Political Agent) was ordered by Luniewski in late April 1864, but was not delivered until May 28, 1864, until then he had been using the old seal (Diplomatic Agent).
Brass seal piston, 31mm in diameter, ebony or black stained wooden handle. Total height 113.5mm. Round piston in the center a three-field coat of arms surmounted by a closed crown, symbolizing Poland, Lithuania and Ruthenia., depicting an eagle without a crown, a horseman with a shield and a sword (Pogoń Litewska) and an archangel with a sword (Ruthenia). Inscribed around the coat of arms is the inscription "National Government, Political Agent in Rome."
Bibliography:
Yuri. I. Shtakelberg,"Insurgent Seals 1863-1864," Warsaw 1988.
