Himerios vestarches (?) (tenth/eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of St Nicholas offering a blessing and holding the book; details indistinct. Traces of sigla at left: |.Ι|Κ : ὁ ἅ(γιος) [Ν]ικ[όλαος]. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, a cross above and below. Border of dots.
ΙΜΕΡΙ̣
ΟΕΣ..
ΤΥΠΟΙΜ̣
Ε̣ΓΡΑ
Ἱμέριο(ς) βεσ[τάρχης] τυποῖ με γράφ(ων)
Obverse
Bust of St Nicholas offering a blessing and holding the book; details indistinct. Traces of sigla at left: |.Ι|Κ : ὁ ἅ(γιος) [Ν]ικ[όλαος]. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, a cross above and below. Border of dots.
ΙΜΕΡΙ̣
ΟΕΣ..
ΤΥΠΟΙΜ̣
Ε̣ΓΡΑ
Ἱμέριο(ς) βεσ[τάρχης] τυποῖ με γράφ(ων)
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.885 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 32.0 mm |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Ἱμέριος βεστάρχης τυποῖ με γράφων.
The vestarches Himerios stamps me (as the seal of) his documents.
Commentary
The reading of the reverse inscription is by no means certain. We have preferred to read vestarches instead of the equally plausible vestes since it provides the syllables necessary to make a twelve-syllable verse, which appears to have been the owner's intent. If so, this metrical inscription should be added to the corpus assembled by Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, vol. I.