Abstract:
The article reports on an analysis of ten wax seals (with the shells) authenticating various
documents of 1411–1783. The seals were chosen by the sphragistics expert Dr. Edmundas Rimša
and the Head of the Manuscript Department of the Library of the Academy of Sciences Rima
Cicėnienė.
Analysed were the Great Seal of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Small Seal of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the seals of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania Žygimantas Kęstutaitis and
Kazimieras, of the Bishop of Vilnius Albertas Taboras, of the noble Jonas Skinderis, of the city of
Kaunas.
The methods of atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and atomic fluorescence spectrometry
(AFS) were used to determine the heavy metals in the seals. The elemental composition of
the seals and of their shells was analysed by the method of scanning electron microscopy and energy
dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). In addition, organic structure units in the matter of the
seals and their shells were specified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).
The analysis was performed in the Environmental Research Department of the Environment
Protection Agency under the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania.
