Cloth Seal, French, Lyon

Cloth Seal, Customs, Lyon France, Silk, Image & Found by Demmy.

One-part seal showing the French arms - a crowned shield with three fleur-de-lis in an inverted triangle. The shield has 16 11 to sides. The other side has a shield bearing three fleur-de-lis in a row above a lion rampant - the arms of the City of Lyon.

See No.300 Fig.39, Geoff Egan , 'Lead cloth seals and related items in the B.M.' (B.M.occ.papers 93), "crown over shield with three fleur-de-lis, square chain border // shield with lion rampant, a chief with three fleur-de-lis, Doann.. above, DELY... below, foliate border ... these customs seals (Douanne de Lyon) are attributed by Sabatier to the reigns of Louis XV and XVI (1715-89)."

More from Egan, "One-part custom seals for bales of exported silk. Legislation in 1540 (article XI) describes seals of this kind with the royal arms and those of the city as pieces a une cordette from the way they were secured with a white cord."

See also DL26-b, p.28, Les Plombs de Scelle La Douanne de Lyon, Daniel Slowik, 2014.

Information from Yanok (Tue 24 Apr 03:18:04 2007)
Seal from the customs of Lyon (France), probably for silk.
Obverse : royal shield crowned with the date (1611).
Reverse : Lyon's arms