Phokas (602–10)
Obverse
The Mother of God standing, wearing a chiton and maphorion, and holding Christ before her. A large cross potent with an elongated vertical shaft to left and right. Wreath border.
Reverse
Bust of Phokas. Details indistinct. A circular inscription beginning at left. Wreath border.
..F.CAS-PERPAVI
[D(ominus) n(oster)] F[o]cas perp(etuus) aug(ustus).
Obverse
The Mother of God standing, wearing a chiton and maphorion, and holding Christ before her. A large cross potent with an elongated vertical shaft to left and right. Wreath border.
Reverse
Bust of Phokas. Details indistinct. A circular inscription beginning at left. Wreath border.
..F.CAS-PERPAVI
[D(ominus) n(oster)] F[o]cas perp(etuus) aug(ustus).
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1622 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 28.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 6, no. 11.2. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Dominus noster Focas perpetuus augustus.
Our lord Phokas, eternal augustus.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 6, Emperors, Patriarchs of Constantinople, Addenda (Open in Zotero)
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, Vol. 2, Phocas to Theodosius III (602–717) (Open in Zotero)
- Moneta Imperii Byzantini: Rekonstruktion des Prägeaufbaues auf synoptisch-tabellarischer Grundlage (Open in Zotero)
- Solidi of Phocas and Heraclius: The Chronological Framework (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The seals of Phokas are remarkable for being the first attempt to depict distinctive facial features. The details are inspired by the coins (for example, DOC 2.1:5a.1 [pl. 1]; MIB 2: Prägetabelle X). On the obverse of Phokas’s solidus, the emperor is depicted with a pointed beard, and strands of hair, sharply defined, frame the face. He wears a crown with a cross on circlet, and, in coins struck between 603 and 607, pendilia are absent. O often replaces D as the initial letter of the reverse inscription in coins struck between 602 and 607. For a detailed discussion of the criteria that Grierson followed in dating Phokas’s eastern solidi, see his “Solidi of Phocas and Heraclius,” 131–38.
Unlike BZS.1951.31.5.7 and BZS.1951.31.5.1623, and like BZS.1951.31.5.1621, here the lower portion of the cross potent's shaft is more elongated than the upper.
On the reverse the final letter of AVC has been carved as an upright bar. Whether he is bearded is uncertain, and he seems to be holding a globus cruciger in his right hand.