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The monastery of Nea Mone of Chios (eleventh/twelfth century)

 
 

Obverse

Inscription of three lines, decorations above and below. Border of dots.


ΣΦΡΑ

ΓΙΣΜΟΝ
ΑΣΤΝ

Σφραγὶς μοναστῶν

Reverse

Inscription of three lines. Border of dots.

ΤΗ͂ΣΝΗ
Α͂ΣΜΟΝΗ͂
ΣΧΙΟΎ

τῆς Νέας Μονῆς Χίου

Obverse

Inscription of three lines, decorations above and below. Border of dots.


ΣΦΡΑ

ΓΙΣΜΟΝ
ΑΣΤΝ

Σφραγὶς μοναστῶν

Reverse

Inscription of three lines. Border of dots.

ΤΗ͂ΣΝΗ
Α͂ΣΜΟΝΗ͂
ΣΧΙΟΎ

τῆς Νέας Μονῆς Χίου

Accession number BZS.1955.1.5016
Diameter 17.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 2, no. 41.8a; one photograph of specimen (a) was previously published by G. Galavaris, "Seals of the Byzantine Empire," Archaeology 12 (1959) 267, pl. 7.
Laurent, Corpus V/2, no. 1268 (with erroneous listings); 
see also Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden II, no. 2646.

Translation

Σφραγὶς μοναστῶν τῆς Νέας Μονῆς Χίου.

Seal of the monks of the Nea Mone of Chios.

Commentary

Dodecasyllabic. Some accents on the reverse, two of which, the second and the fourth, are misplaced and erroneous grammatically and metrically (the fourth one could be considered as representing the popular form ἡ Χιός, τῆς Χιοῦ, but in this case it should be a circumflex; and it is metrically unacceptable).

For the history of the famous monastery, see Ch. Bouras, Nea Moni on Chios: History and Architecture; Malmut, Iles, 570-72.

Bibliography

  • Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 2: South of the Balkans, the Islands, South of Asia Minor (Open in Zotero)
  • Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
  • Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
  • Seals of the Byzantine Empire (Open in Zotero)
  • Nea Moni on Chios: History and Architecture (Open in Zotero)
  • Les îles de l’empire byzantin: VIIIe-XIIe siècles (Open in Zotero)
  • Μελέται περὶ τῆς διοικητικῆς διαιρέσεως καὶ τῆς ἐπαρχιακῆς διοικήσεως ἐν τῷ βυζαντινῷ κράτει (Open in Zotero)
  • Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
  • Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Vol. 2, Siegellegenden von Ny bis inklusive Sphragis (Open in Zotero)