Cloth Seal, Dutch, De Rijp

Cloth Seal, Dutch, De Rijp, Image & Found by Brian Townsend.
Found in Wood Enderby, Lincolnshire, 15mm.

Two crowned herring // C

A cloth seal bearing the arms of De Rijp in the Netherlands.

From Peter Eggers, "As far as I know now, there are just two lead seals from De Rijp reported in England and on the Internet.
And only 5 or 6 such seals known ( to me ) in Holland.
Recently we know that they were intended as a quality brand for fishingnets nets made in De Rijp.
They date from 1607 until 1630.
Before 1607 De Rijp was the port of the village Graft. That village called Graft also had its own fishingnet leadseals.
These seals have on one side a cow in front of a tree (see picture) and on the other side a letter, usually a D."