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Anonymous (eleventh century, second half)

 
 

Obverse

St George standing, in military costume, holding a lance in his right hand and supporting a shield on the ground with his left, his mantle is elaborately draped over his right arm. Inscription in two columns: |Γ̣|Ε – |Ρ|Γ: ὁ ἅ(γιος) Γεώργ(ιος). Border of dots.

Reverse

St Theodore standing, in military costume, holding a lance in his right hand and supporting a shield on the ground with his left. Inscription in two columns: |Θ|Ε̣ – Ο||Ρ,: ὁ ἅ(γιος) Θεόδωρ(ος). Indeterminate border.

Obverse

St George standing, in military costume, holding a lance in his right hand and supporting a shield on the ground with his left, his mantle is elaborately draped over his right arm. Inscription in two columns: |Γ̣|Ε – |Ρ|Γ: ὁ ἅ(γιος) Γεώργ(ιος). Border of dots.

Reverse

St Theodore standing, in military costume, holding a lance in his right hand and supporting a shield on the ground with his left. Inscription in two columns: |Θ|Ε̣ – Ο||Ρ,: ὁ ἅ(γιος) Θεόδωρ(ος). Indeterminate border.

Accession number BZS.1958.106.2003
Diameter 23.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 7, no. 16.4.

Commentary

For the obverse, it is very unusual to see the mantle elaborately wrapped around the figure’s arm as it appears on our example of Saint George. The very few seals bearing a similar iconographic detail found among the published specimens are Genève, no. 96 (where parallel pieces are noted) and Zacos, BLS, 2, no. 384, examples belonging to the second half of the eleventh century.

Bibliography

  • Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 7: The Iconographic Seals (Open in Zotero)