(The monastery of) the Theotokos Peribleptos (eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of the Mother of God orans. At left and right: ΜΡ̅ΘΥ̅ : Μ(ήτη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of six lines preceded by decoration. Border of dots.
σφρα
γισανασ
σηστησ
περι.λε
πτου.
....
Σφραγὶς ἀνάσσης τῆς Περι[β]λέπτου . . .
Obverse
Bust of the Mother of God orans. At left and right: ΜΡ̅ΘΥ̅ : Μ(ήτη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of six lines preceded by decoration. Border of dots.
σφρα
γισανασ
σηστησ
περι.λε
πτου.
....
Σφραγὶς ἀνάσσης τῆς Περι[β]λέπτου . . .
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.899 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 30.0 mm; field: 25.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 5 no. 55.2; Laurent, Corpus 5.2: no. 1178 (with misreading). See also Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden II, no. 2335b. |
Translation
Σφραγὶς ἀνάσσης τῆς Περι[β]λέπτου . . .
The seal (of the monastery) of [our] Lady Peribleptos.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 5: The East (continued), Constantinople and Environs, Unknown Locations, Addenda, Uncertain Readings
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin, vol. 5, L’Église
- Ioannis Scylitzae Synopsis Historiarum
- Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
- La géographie ecclésiastique de l’empire byzantin, vol. 1, Le siège de Constantinople et le patriarcat oecuménique, pt. 3, Les églises et les monastères
- Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden Teil 2: N - Sphragis
Commentary
Laurent read lines 4 and 5 (reverse): Περ(ι)βλέπτο[υ]. The present reading assumes that an iota is present and that it was followed by a beta, now missing. The inscription on the reverse probably ended with the word μονῆς, as in the case of Laurent, Corpus 5.2: nos. 1175 and 1179. Cf. the Addenda to Laurent, Corpus 5.3:301. The final element in line 5, however, may have been a cross; it is possible as well that there was a decoration below line 5.
The monastery is a foundation of Emperor Romanos III Argyros (1028–1034) and it was here that he was buried (Skylitzes, 392.10–12). The monastery was a center of resistance against the Bogomils: ODB 2:1629, and Janin, Églises, 218–22. An eleventh-century hegoumenos named Theodore is known from seals (Laurent, Corpus 5.2: nos. 1179 and 1180).