Lead Seals

Lead seal for marking fabrics. Belonged to German traders, meant for export of English fabrics (?). 16th c.

Lead, gilding (survived in fragments), Ø 57 mm. Found during excavations in the territory of Vilnius Lower Castle in 1989–1996

Lead seal for marking fabrics. Doué (today, France). 16th-17th c.

Lead, Ø 11 mm. Found during excavations in the territory of Vilnius Lower Castle in 1991

Lead seal for marking fabrics. Leipzig. 16th c.

Lead, Ø 24 mm. Found during excavations in the territory of Vilnius Lower Castle in 1991

Lead seal for marking fabrics. Poperinge (today, Belgium). 15th c.

Lead, Ø 26,5 mm. Found during excavations in the territory of Vilnius Lower Castle in 1992

Examples of reverses of lead seals of Virbalis custom house from 1921–1925. Lithuania. 1925

Lead, cardboard, thread, 302 × 211 mm. Transferred from Lithuanian Central State Archives in 2002

A collection of 1,800 lead seals for marking textiles, goods, and airtight containers has been accumulated for twenty years. It mainly consists of lead seals of manufactures, merchants, companies, custom houses and railways of various European countries from the 14th to 20th centuries, found during excavations, and random finds from various locations of Lithuania. 30 lead seals of the Drohiczyn type from the 11th–13th century and 70 sheets of various sizes with imprints of sealing pliers of custom houses of the Republic of Lithuania (1919–1940) – samples of lead seals – should be mentioned.