File:La Fayette Fob Seal Matrix (FindID 853061).jpg

English: Gilded, copper alloy rectangular fob seal with glass intaglio dating to the Georgian or early Victorian period, i.e. late 18th or early 19th century. Only the frame, setting and the glass intaglio remain; suspension loop is missing. The frame and setting has a floral pattern with traces of gold gilt till remaining.

The image on the obverse shows the bust of a young man facing right, with short hair and probably just wearing a simple shirt. The hair style (with the hair combed forward) looks slightly Napoleonic. The inscription reads 'LA FAYETTE' with the 'LA' above the head and 'FAYETTE' below. It is possible but unlikely that this was the seal matrix belonging to the famous French 'La Fayette' family, but it may have possibly belonged to an English supporter of Gilbert du Motier, the Maquis de La Fayette.

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, marquis de la Fayette (6 September 1757 - 20 May 1834), commonly known in English as Marquis de Lafayette, was a French military officer and aristocrat who participated in both the American and French revolutions. He permanently renounced the nobility and the title "Marquis"[1] before the French National Assembly on 19 June 1790.[2] Lafayette served in the American Revolutionary War both as a general and as a diplomat. He served entirely without pay in both roles, which he was able to do due to his family's immense wealth as feudal landowners. Later, he was to prove a key figure in the early phases of the French Revolution, serving in the Estates General and the subsequent National Constituent Assembly. He was a leading figure among the Feuillants, who tried to turn France into a constitutional monarchy, and commander of the French National Guard. Accused by Jean-Paul Marat of responsibility for the "Massacre of the Champ de Mars" (before which Lafayette was nearly assassinated), he subsequently was forced out of a leading role in the Revolution by Jacobin-Terror anarchists.[2] On 19 August 1792 the Jacobin party seized control of Paris and the National Assembly, ordering Lafayette's arrest. He fled France and was arrested by the Austrian army in Rochefort, Belgium. Thereafter, he spent five years in various Prussian / Austrian prisons allied with the British Empire. After a strenuous effort by his wife, that was aided by the French Directory that forced Napoleon's Army toward Austria, he was released in 1797; however, Napoleon did not want Lafayette to return to France and hoped he would leave forever to the United States. After three years in exile he quietly returned (aided again by his wife) and continued to be active in French and European politics until his death in 1834.

The name "La Fayette" is derived from an estate in Aix that belonged to the Motier family in the 13th century but this recent branch of the family changed to the one word form of the name. The original Gilbert Lafayette, Marshal of France, (from whom Lafayette drew his motto, "CUR NON?" - Latin for "WHY NOT?") fought, successfully, at the Battle of Baugé (also called Battle of Beauge) and nine years later for Joan of Arc. Lafayette's full name is seldom used in the United States, where he is usually known as "General Lafayette" or simply "Lafayette" (his preferences and as written on his birth certificate), but sometimes is called "the Marquis de Lafayette" (mistakenly or maliciously if used in post 1790 references, since he permanently renounced the nobility title on 19 June 1790)[1][2]. After 1790 and especially after the Bourbon Restoration, Lafayette's enemies viciously taunted him in the press by continually referring to him as "Marquis"[4] The name Lafayette may be written as one word or as two; one word is more typical in American usage and was Lafayette's preference (appearing on his birth certificate, all signatures to his letters and his grave stone) while the two-word form is preferred in contemporary British and French sources. Many places in the United States are named Lafayette, Fayette, or Fayetteville in his honour.