The holy monastery of Mount Sinai (twelfth century)
Obverse
Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from the hand of God; the burning bush is before him. Inscription in two columns: Ο|ΠΡ|ΟΦ,|Τ,ΜΟ|ΗΣ : Ὁ προφ(ή)τ(ης) Μοησ(ῆς). Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, a decoration above. Border of dots.
ΤΙΣΑ
ΓΙΑΣΜΟ
ΝΗΣΤΟΥ
ΣΙΝΑΟ
ΡΣ
Τῖς ἁγίας μονῆς τοῦ Σινᾶ ὄρους.
Obverse
Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from the hand of God; the burning bush is before him. Inscription in two columns: Ο|ΠΡ|ΟΦ,|Τ,ΜΟ|ΗΣ : Ὁ προφ(ή)τ(ης) Μοησ(ῆς). Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, a decoration above. Border of dots.
ΤΙΣΑ
ΓΙΑΣΜΟ
ΝΗΣΤΟΥ
ΣΙΝΑΟ
ΡΣ
Τῖς ἁγίας μονῆς τοῦ Σινᾶ ὄρους.
| Accession number | BZS 1947.2.159 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 29.0 mm; field: 19.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 5 no. 21.1; Laurent, Corpus 5.2: no. 1576 (listed as Shaw 1183). |
Translation
Τῖς ἁγίας μονῆς τοῦ Σινᾶ ὄρους.
(Seal) of the holy monastery of Mount Sinai.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 5: The East (continued), Constantinople and Environs, Unknown Locations, Addenda, Uncertain Readings (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (Open in Zotero)
- The Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai: The Church and Fortress of Justinian (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
More commonly called the monastery of St. Catherine from the eleventh century, the famous monastery of Mount Sinai was located on the site where by tradition Moses beheld the burning bush and received the Ten Commandments. It was founded and fortified by the emperor Justinian between 548 and 562, and has functioned uninterruptedly down to the present day. See Laurent, Corpus 5.2:408; ODB 1:341, 392; 3:1902–3; G. H. Forsyth and Kurt Weitzmann, The Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai.
The iconography of the seal recalls the scenes of Moses before the burning bush and his reception of the Tenth Commandments rendered in the monastery's church; cf. Forsyth and Weitzmann, Monastery, plates CXXVI and CXXVII.