Lead, 45.68 grams, 36.01 dia, approx 5 mm thickness. 12th century AD. A lead seal from a document issued by Pope Alexander III, who was in office from 1159 to 1181. The iconography of papal bulls has not altered since the time of Pope Pasquale II (1099-1118) - one face bears the name of the issuing Pope and the other the opposed profile heads of SS. Peter and Paul with a cruciform emblem between and a form of the identifying abbreviated legend 'SPASPE', (Sanctus Petrus Sanctus Paulus 'Saint Peter, Saint Paul') on the other. The present example shows on the recto the faces executed in low relief in a realistic style within a border of fine dots, below the legend. On the verso is the text ALEX/ANDER/P[..] III. The bulla is in very fine condition with a sturdy, thick flan. Provenance: from an old English collection.