Merchant's mark

[4] Symbolic merchants' marks continued to be used by artisans and townspeople of the medieval and early modern eras[5] to identify themselves and authenticate their goods.

They are often found on headstones, the covers of commercial ledgers,[6] and in works of stained glass,[7] brass, and stone, serving in place of heraldic imagery, which could not be used by the middle classes.

To manage the risks of piracy or shipwreck, merchants often consigned a cargo to several vessels or caravans; a mark on a bale established legal ownership and avoided confusion.

To counter these dangers merchants employed all sorts of religious and magical means to place their caravans, ships and merchandise under the protection of God and His Saints.

Modern institutions, corporations and trademarks, find some of their origins in these symbolic and legal devices for limiting physical and pecuniary risks.