Anonymous (eleventh/twelfth century)
Obverse
The Nativity: at the center is the reclining Virgin with the swaddled Christ Child reclining above her; at the upper right are the heads of the ox and the ass; above the head of the Virgin is the star; at the left is Joseph; at the lower center are the remains of the midwife and the Christ Child from the scene of the bathing of the infant Christ that is often included in Byzantine depictions of the Nativity; no legible remains of inscription. Border of dots.
Reverse
The Anastasis (Resurrection). At the center is Christ, facing right, holding a cross staff in his left hand and raising the figure of Adam (only his arm remains) with his right; at the right are the two figures of Solomon and David standing in their sarcophagi; border of dots. Along the border between Christ’s nimbus and the heads of the two kings are the remains of an inscription. Inscription: ̣Α̣Ν̣Α̣|Σ̣Τ̣|Α̣|Σ̣.Σ̣ : ἡ Ἀνάστασ[ι]ς.
Obverse
The Nativity: at the center is the reclining Virgin with the swaddled Christ Child reclining above her; at the upper right are the heads of the ox and the ass; above the head of the Virgin is the star; at the left is Joseph; at the lower center are the remains of the midwife and the Christ Child from the scene of the bathing of the infant Christ that is often included in Byzantine depictions of the Nativity; no legible remains of inscription. Border of dots.
Reverse
The Anastasis (Resurrection). At the center is Christ, facing right, holding a cross staff in his left hand and raising the figure of Adam (only his arm remains) with his right; at the right are the two figures of Solomon and David standing in their sarcophagi; border of dots. Along the border between Christ’s nimbus and the heads of the two kings are the remains of an inscription. Inscription: ̣Α̣Ν̣Α̣|Σ̣Τ̣|Α̣|Σ̣.Σ̣ : ἡ Ἀνάστασ[ι]ς.
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.3562 bis |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 20.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 7, 2.9. |
| 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
As noted above, representations of the Annunciation are the most common sphragistic narrative scenes, with 66 examples from the published collections. The Anastasisis second in frequency with 27 specimens among published seals. The Nativity is rarer: just three known seal images are known. Bilateral pairings of Christological scenes are even fewer. From the published collections only seven are known, and of these, just one pairs the Nativity with the Anastasis (Lihačev, IZIGI, 140, fig. 324). From the text of the Alexiad, we know that Anna Dalassene, the mother of the emperor Alexios I, issued a seal that bore images of the Transfiguration and the Dormition (Annae Comnenae Alexias, 102). Such pairings are often linked theologically, such as the Crucifixion with the Anastasis. Here, too, the joining of the scene of the Nativity with that of the Anastasis makes a statement alluding to the entire earthly life-span of Christ, the purpose of which was the Incarnation and redemption of the human race. For a discussion of Christological scenes found on seals, and those that have bilateral scenes, see Cotsonis, “Narrative Scenes,” 19-36.
Similar to Lihačev, IZIGI, p. 140, no. 324 (the specimen is in the Athens Numismatic Museum = Konstantopoulos, no. 774).