John II Komnenos (1118–1143)
Obverse
Christ seated on a high-back throne (details indistinct). No visible border.
Reverse
John II standing, wearing a loros, an end of which is draped over his left wrist. He holds in the right hand a labarum and a globus cruciger (weakly imprinted) in the left. Traces of a circular inscription at left. No visible border.
. . .σπο . . .
[Ἰω(άννῃ) δε]σπό[τ(ῃ) τῷ πορφυρογεννήτῳ]?
Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.2782 |
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Diameter | 27.0 mm |
Previous Editions | DO Seals 6, no. 91.5. |
Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
[Ἰωάννῃ δεσπότῃ τῷ πορφυρογεννήτῳ
John porphyrogennetos, despotes.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 6, Emperors, Patriarchs of Constantinople, Addenda (Open in Zotero)
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, Vol. 4, Alexius I to Michael VIII (1081–1261) (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The use of the dative case is unusual as there is no invocation accompanying the inscription. For coins of John II with a similar dative inscription see DOC 4.1: no. 12a.