Kamateros (twelfth century)
Obverse
The Dormition of the Virgin. No sigla visible. Indeterminate border.
Reverse
Inscription in four lines. Indeterminate border.
ΤΟΝΚΑ
ΜΑΤΗΡΟΝ
ΜΡΓΝΗΜ.
Σ̣Κ̣ΠΟΙΣ
τὸν Καματηρὸν μ(ῆτ)ερ ἀγνὴ μ[ε] σκέποις
Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.971 |
---|---|
Diameter | 21.0 mm |
Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
τὸν Καματηρὸν μῆτερ ἀγνὴ με σκέποις.
Holy Mother, may you protect me, Kamateros.
Bibliography
- Corpus of Byzantine Seals from Bulgaria (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Dodecasyllabic. Listed in PBW : Anonymus 20372.
This is a rare seal depicting a narrative scene. Unfortunately, the obverse is badly effaced and the details of the iconography are hardly discernible. Since only the family name of the bearer of the seal is mentioned, it is difficult to associate the seal with any other twelfth-century specimen known to have belonged to other Kamateroi. Cf. Jordanov, Corpus II, p. 174.
The combination of letters gamma-nu is rendered as a ligature consisting of a regular gamma with a miniature nu placed on top of its arm. This is visible more clearly on this specimen's better preserved parallel, BZS.1955.1.4046.