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Description: | A complete cast lead four part Charles II or James II alnage cloth seal, dating to the 17th/ 18th century (length: 36mm; average diameter: 16mm; thickness: 6mm; weight: 11.4g).
At the top of seal, there is a sub-rectangular loop (length: 4.5mm; width: 6mm). The main body of the seal is composed of two sets of sub-circular discs linked with an integral ribbon between them. On Disc 2, there is a Charles II type head facing right with the inscription [OF ENG]LAND still partially visible. On the opposing Disc 3, there is a crown over a thistle with a border of incuse rays around the usual stamped circle of beading. The lead rivet is still visible as it still connects Disc 1 and 4 together. Overall, the artefact is in a worn and poor condition.
Similar examples are illustrated in Egan, G, 1995, British Occasional Paper 93, 'Lead Cloth Seal and Related Items in the British Museum', pages 62-3 & 178, fig 27, ref no 134. Cloth seals were in use between the 13th and 19th centuries and were part of a system of industrial regulation and quality control which became very complicated, particularly in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Egan, 1995, page 1). | Format: | text/html | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ | Publisher: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Rights holder: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Subjects: | archaeology | Temporal: | 1662
1701 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
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