Cloth Seal, Belgian, Lier Arms, Image & Found by Johan Dils.
Found in Belgium, Lier, 34mm.
Standing figure in full length pleated tunic, matching skirt beneath, foliate design around, Gothic / Lombardic letter to left // shield with three chevrons, LIER above
The arms are those of the town of Lier. Neither the face of the figure or the letter to the left can be made out (small a or d?).
It is definitely a bulla type, one piece seal as it has a slit on its side where the attachment to the cloth was clamped. Hendrik I van Brabant gave the city its charter in 1212 and the cattle and cloth industry helped it to flourish throughout the 14th and 15th centuries but this seal is from a much later date, probably from the time of the Industrial Revolution.
Martijn Schaftenaar has suggested that the figure could be the patron saint of Lier*, Gummarus, and sent the following brief history, "In 1212 the city Lier was officially classified as city and received its charter. In 1275 duke Jan I gave permission to set up a weavers guild/corporation. In 1294 duke Jan II agreed a charter with king Edward I which resulted in the export of cloth from Brabant (of which Lier was part) becoming more important than that of Flanders. In the course of this the cloth industry in Brabant increased rapidly. At the end of the 13th century Lier became an important centre of the textile industry. In 1326 Lier built the Hoge halle (cloth hall) in which cloth might sold. In 1338 Lier built the Lakenhalle; now used as the City Hall.
From 1338 Lier started to export cloth to England. After 1375 the cloth industry reached its zenith. In this period the city exported cloth to Parijs, Dijon, Milaan, Pisa, Ravensburg, etc. Around 1450 the cloth industry decreased and around 1480 the cloth industry reached its lowest point. The decrease was caused by the export of the modern drapery from England to the low countries."
From 1757 to 1834 the Lier textile company, Jacob De Heyder & Co, was one of the largest cotton mills on the European continent and it also had a calendaring and dye works in the city. It is quite possible this seal was attached to one of their products.
*Martijn could not find a tree which is normally associated with Saint Gummarus, however close examination suggests a trunk to the right and possible branches above the shoulders.
