Seal of the Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja

One of the rare personal items that can be directly related to Stefan Nemanja is the seal with his name. It is made of lead, in the shape of a circular plate with an opening through the middle, pierced for the ribbon with which the seal was tied to the charter. It belongs to the second half of the 12th century, the time when Stefan Nemanja held the title of Grand Prince. Such lead seals ('bule') were made and were in great use in Byzantium and Eastern Europe during the 11th and 12th centuries. The seal of Stefan Nemanja provides evidence of the Serbian state ruling office extensive activity in the twelfth century which - by issuing various acts: legal, political, economic and private - maintained a developed diplomatic practice, initially relying on Byzantine models. Soon, however, through the development of correspondence and ties with the West, it spread onto the forms from these parts of Europe.