Constans II, Constantine IV, Herakleios, and Tiberios (663–68)
Obverse
The Mother of God standing, wearing a chiton and maphorion, and holding Christ, who is framed by an oval mandorla, before her. A cross potent at left and right.
Reverse
Four emperors standing. Each wears a crown with a cross and a chlamys, and holds a globus cruciger in his right hand. Constans II, the tallest figure, with a long beard and mustache, stands second from the left. On his right is Constantine IV, seemingly with a short beard. On the ends are two smaller figures, both beardless: Herakleios at left and Tiberios at right. Constans wears his hair long at the sides and curled, and his sidelocks are combed downward and outward. No epigraphy. Wreath border.
Obverse
The Mother of God standing, wearing a chiton and maphorion, and holding Christ, who is framed by an oval mandorla, before her. A cross potent at left and right.
Reverse
Four emperors standing. Each wears a crown with a cross and a chlamys, and holds a globus cruciger in his right hand. Constans II, the tallest figure, with a long beard and mustache, stands second from the left. On his right is Constantine IV, seemingly with a short beard. On the ends are two smaller figures, both beardless: Herakleios at left and Tiberios at right. Constans wears his hair long at the sides and curled, and his sidelocks are combed downward and outward. No epigraphy. Wreath border.
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.549 (formerly DO 58.106.549) |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 30.0 mm; field: 27.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 6, no. 21.1; for similar specimens see Zacos–Veglery, nos. 20a–b; Seibt, Bleisiegel, no. 14 (659–65); and Likhachev, “Nekotorye,” 516–17, figs. 42–45. |
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)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Die byzantinischen Bleisiegel in Österreich, Vol. 1, Kaiserhof (Open in Zotero)
- Nekotorye stareishie tipy pechati vizantijskich imperatorov (Open in Zotero)
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, Vol. 2, Phocas to Theodosius III (602–717) (Open in Zotero)
- Moneta Imperii Byzantini: Rekonstruktion des Prägeaufbaues auf synoptisch-tabellarischer Grundlage (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Constans’s two sons, Herakleios and Tiberios, became associated with their father and brother in 659. Although they first appear on gold coin emissions after 659, Grierson has dated those coins on which the emperors each hold a globus cruciger in his right hand to the period ca. 663–68 (for example, DOC 2.2:41d [pl. XXV]; MIB 3: Prägetabelle V, nos. 29–40).