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Theophilos (829–30/31)

 
 

Obverse

Bust of Theophilos, bearded, wearing a crown surmounted with a cross and a loros. He holds a globus cruciger in his right hand and in his left a cross scepter. Circular inscription. Border of dots.

ΘEOF..OSSILE

Θeof[il]os basileu(s).

Reverse

Blank.

Obverse

Bust of Theophilos, bearded, wearing a crown surmounted with a cross and a loros. He holds a globus cruciger in his right hand and in his left a cross scepter. Circular inscription. Border of dots.

ΘEOF..OSSILE

Θeof[il]os basileu(s).

Reverse

Blank.

Accession number BZS.1955.1.4281 (formerly DO 55.1.4281)
Diameter 23.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 6, no. 45.1; Zacos–Veglery, no. 52.

Translation

Θeofilos basileus.

Theophilos, basileus.

Commentary

The design and inscription on this seal are identical to those on the obverse of Theophilos’s earliest gold issues (class 1 solidus), dated by Grierson to 829–30/31 (DOC 3.1:1a.2 [pl. 22]).

On the obverse it is not possible to discern the globus in the emperor’s right hand, but one can see the cross surmounting it.

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)
  • Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, Vol. 3, Leo III to Nicephorus III (717–1081) (Open in Zotero)