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Alexios "man" of the archbishop (of Thessalonica) (eleventh century)

 
 

Obverse

St. Demetrios standing; details are unclear. Inscription in two columns: ο|αγι|..δη|μη|τρι|οσ : Ὁ ἅγι[ος] Δημήτριος. Border of dots.

Reverse

Inscription of six lines. Border of dots.

.γιεδη
τριε
σ,αλεξι
τα̅ν̅
ταρεπ
.π.

[Ἅ]γιε Δημήτριε σ(κέποις) Ἀλεξίῳ τῷ ἀν(θρώπ)ῳ τοῦ ἀρ(χι)επ(ισ)[κ(ό)]π(ου)

Obverse

St. Demetrios standing; details are unclear. Inscription in two columns: ο|αγι|..δη|μη|τρι|οσ : Ὁ ἅγι[ος] Δημήτριος. Border of dots.

Reverse

Inscription of six lines. Border of dots.

.γιεδη
τριε
σ,αλεξι
τα̅ν̅
ταρεπ
.π.

[Ἅ]γιε Δημήτριε σ(κέποις) Ἀλεξίῳ τῷ ἀν(θρώπ)ῳ τοῦ ἀρ(χι)επ(ισ)[κ(ό)]π(ου)

Accession number BZS.1951.31.5.3109
Diameter 25.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 5, no. 111.1.

Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore.

Translation

Ἅγιε Δημήτριε σκέποις Ἀλεξίῳ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τοῦ ἀρχιεπισκόπου.

Saint Demetrios, watch over Alexios, "man" of the archbishop.

Commentary

The only certain matters are that the inscription on the reverse opens with an invocation to Saint Demetrios and identifies the owner of the seal as Alexios, who was a "man" of someone. The abbreviation σ(κέποις) is highly unusual and the lettering of the final two lines is problematic.

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)