Basil Amnos, anagnostes (eleventh century)
Obverse
St. Michael standing full length, holding a scepter topped by a trefoil ornament in his right hand and a globus in his left. Sigla visible in two columns on either side: μ|ιχ|α : Μιχα(ήλ). Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
κεΘ̣
ασιλει
̣αναγν̣
στητα
μν
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) Βασιλείῳ ἀναγνώστῃ τῷ Ἀμνῷ
Obverse
St. Michael standing full length, holding a scepter topped by a trefoil ornament in his right hand and a globus in his left. Sigla visible in two columns on either side: μ|ιχ|α : Μιχα(ήλ). Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
κεΘ̣
ασιλει
̣αναγν̣
στητα
μν
Κ(ύρι)ε β(οή)θ(ει) Βασιλείῳ ἀναγνώστῃ τῷ Ἀμνῷ
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1882 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 23.0 mm; field: 16.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | Laurent, Corpus V/2, no. 1068; Nesbitt, "Overstruck seals in the Dumbarton Oaks collection," SBS 2 (1990), 76–77 (no. 8). |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει Βασιλείῳ ἀναγνώστῃ τῷ Ἀμνῷ.
Lord, help the anagnostes Basil Amnos.
Bibliography
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Overstruck Seals in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
This seal is double-struck. The overstrike is edited in this entry, whereas the original (or understrike) can be restored only in part. The rare epithet by which the Mother of God is addressed (Πανάμωμε) in the original strike indicates that the circular inscription on the reverse ran around her image in the center. The remains of the circular inscription on the obverse read as follows: .πρτουυπαρχο.συν : Πρώτου ὑπάρχο[ν] συν[κέλλων]... . On the reverse: το.......παναμμεσκεπε. : τ[ὸν] ... Πανάμωμε σκέπε. The inscription as a whole will thus have consisted of a metrical invocation to the Immaculate Mother of God to protect a protosynkellos whose name is not preserved.