Cloth Seal, Searcher, Stuart Arms, Alnage, Unicorn & Lion

Cloth Seal, Stuart Arms, Searcher's Seal, Unicorn & Lion, Image & Found by Alloverover.
Found in Essex, 26 x 13mm, 6.3g.

(SE)A / (RC)H / ED // Stuart Arms // unicorn and lion, crown above // XII / VII

A four-disc searcher's alnage seal from the Stuart period, 1603 - 1689 (with break for the Interregnum). The Roman numerals (possibly incomplete) show the length and weight of the cloth. The unicorn is common Scottish symbol fitting in with the Stuart origins; the angel is more difficult to explain as it would normally be a lion for England helping to support the crown. It may indeed simply be a bad representation of a lion as the hands look more like shaggy paws! See BSG.CS.00980 for better lion & unicorn on a seal.