Anonymous (tenth/eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin with her hands raised before her breast; a small cross is above the Virgin’s head, slightly to the right. Sigla: ̣̅Θ : Μ(ήτη)ρ Θ(ε)οῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Bust of Saint Sabas with his hands raised before his breast; he wears a monastic mantle. Inscription in two columns (only the left survives): ̣|Σ̣|̣ : ὁ ἅ(γιος) Σά[βας]. Indeterminate border.
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin with her hands raised before her breast; a small cross is above the Virgin’s head, slightly to the right. Sigla: ̣̅Θ : Μ(ήτη)ρ Θ(ε)οῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Bust of Saint Sabas with his hands raised before his breast; he wears a monastic mantle. Inscription in two columns (only the left survives): ̣|Σ̣|̣ : ὁ ἅ(γιος) Σά[βας]. Indeterminate border.
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.1907 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 18.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 7, no. 4.14. |
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 7: The Iconographic Seals (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Although the Virgin is frequently depicted in this gesture of prayer, with her hands raised before her breast, it is rare for another saint to be portrayed in this manner on seals. Only monastic saints are sometimes rendered in this pose.
In the DO collection of figural seals, we find just seven other depictions of five different monastic saints. This corresponds with the relatively low number of monastic seals found in the published catalogues in which 93 images of sixteen different monastic saints appear. See Cotsonis, "Contribution," 473-77.