Maurice Tiberios (582–602)
Obverse
The Mother of God standing, holding Christ before her. A large cross potent with an elongated vertical shaft at left and right. No visible border.
Reverse
Bust of Maurice Tiberios wearing a crown with a cross on top, a circular decoration in front, and pendilia and a chlamys. Remains of a circular inscription at right. Linear border.
.......T.PPAVI
[D(ominus) n(oster) Maur(i)c(ius)] T[i]b(erius) p(er)p(etuus) aug(ustus)
Obverse
The Mother of God standing, holding Christ before her. A large cross potent with an elongated vertical shaft at left and right. No visible border.
Reverse
Bust of Maurice Tiberios wearing a crown with a cross on top, a circular decoration in front, and pendilia and a chlamys. Remains of a circular inscription at right. Linear border.
.......T.PPAVI
[D(ominus) n(oster) Maur(i)c(ius)] T[i]b(erius) p(er)p(etuus) aug(ustus)
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1620 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 30.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 6, no. 9.8. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Dominus noster Mauricius Tiberius perpetuus augustus.
Our lord Maurice Tiberios, eternal augustus.
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)
Commentary
Maurice Tiberios’s seals continue the divergence from the design of coins noted first in the reign of Tiberios Constantine, with the Mother of God on the former and Winged Victory on the latter. Among both seals and coins are preserved examples in which the emperor’s name is read “Mauricius Tiberius” and “Tiberius Mauricius.”
The letter C at the end of the circular inscription on the reverse is represented, as on coins, by a simple vertical bar. The upper portion of a fibula is visible on the emperor’s right shoulder.