A unique stamp from the January Uprising period made around November 1863 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 toward the Polish cause, gain information on the balance of power and political sentiment on 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 stamp (Political Agent) was ordered by Luniewski in late April 1864, but not delivered until May 28, 1864. The piece shown (Diplomatic Agent) was used from December 1863 to May 28, 1864.
Brass stamp piston, 39.5mm in diameter, ebony or black stained wooden handle. Total height 75mm. Round piston in the center of a three-field coat of arms surmounted by a closed crown, symbolizing Poland, Lithuania and Ruthenia, depicting an eagle without a crown holding a cross and a sword, 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, Diplomatic Agent in Rome."
Bibliography:
Yuri. I. Shtakelberg,"Insurgent Seals 1863-1864," Warsaw 1988
