Euprepios spatharokandidatos and grand kommerkiarios of the West (tenth/eleventh centuries)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding the medallion of Christ before her. Sigla with tongues of fire above: ̅ΘΥ̅ : Μή(τη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Along the upper circumference, inscription. Border of dots.
θκεοηθ,τσ
Θ(εοτό)κε βοήθ(ει) τῷ σ[ῷ δούλῳ]
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding the medallion of Christ before her. Sigla with tongues of fire above: ̅ΘΥ̅ : Μή(τη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Along the upper circumference, inscription. Border of dots.
θκεοηθ,τσ
Θ(εοτό)κε βοήθ(ει) τῷ σ[ῷ δούλῳ]
Reverse
Inscription in five lines. Border of dots.
ευπρε
.ισπαθˋ
.ανˋSμε
.αλˋκμερ
.ιαριοδι
σεσ
Εὐπρε[π]ίῳ σπαθ(αρο)κανδ(ι)δ(άτῳ) (καὶ) με[γ]άλ(ῳ) κουμερ[κ]ιαρίο Δίσεως
Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1746 |
---|---|
Diameter | 24.0 mm |
Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 1.24a. |
Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Εὐπρεπίῳ σπαθαροκανδιδάτῳ καὶ μεγάλῳ κουμερκιαρίῳ Δύσεως.
Theotokos, help your servant Euprepios spatharokandidatos and grand kommerkiarios of the West.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 1: Italy, North of the Balkans, North of the Black Sea (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
As this seal comes from the same boulloterion as BZS 1951.31.5.1754, the readings are combined. A parallel specimen seeming to be from the same metrices is found in Zacos, Seals II, no. 809.
The use of the word μέγας in combination with κουμερκιάριος is uncommon (cf. Bibicou, Douanes, 184, 233), and cannot be satisfactorily explained.