Anonymous (eleventh century)
Obverse
Archangel Michael, standing on a suppedion, wearing the imperial loros, holding a trefoil scepter in his right hand and a globus cruciger in his left. Sigla preserved at right: Μ : [Ἀ(ρχάγγελος)] Μ(ιχαὴλ). Border of dots.
Reverse
St Nicholas standing, blessing with his right hand and holding a gospel book with his left. Inscription in two columns: |Ν|Ι|Κ,Λ|Α|Ο̣|. : ὁ ἅ(γιος) Νικ(ό)λαο[ς]. Border of dots.
Obverse
Archangel Michael, standing on a suppedion, wearing the imperial loros, holding a trefoil scepter in his right hand and a globus cruciger in his left. Sigla preserved at right: Μ : [Ἀ(ρχάγγελος)] Μ(ιχαὴλ). Border of dots.
Reverse
St Nicholas standing, blessing with his right hand and holding a gospel book with his left. Inscription in two columns: |Ν|Ι|Κ,Λ|Α|Ο̣|. : ὁ ἅ(γιος) Νικ(ό)λαο[ς]. Border of dots.
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.3480 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 29.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 7, 12.4. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 7: The Iconographic Seals (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The end of the loros draped over the Archangel’s left arm terminates in elaborate tassels. This decorative detail is employed for other sphragistic images of the imperially clad Michael from the mid-eleventh-century: see Genève, nos. 145 and 166.