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Details
LOT 1079
Byzantine Silver Stamp Seal with Bird
6TH-8TH CENTURY A.D.
1 in. (11.7 grams, 24 mm).
Conical body with integral loop above, underside with a standing bird with hooked beak, pelletted field.
Provenance
Private collection, UK.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1079
Byzantine Silver Stamp Seal with Bird
Estimate £250 - 350€290 - 410 (for guidance only)$340 - 470 (for guidance only)
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This magnificent, if fragmentary, icon belongs to the most florid period of Byzantium’s renaissance, when, under the aegis of the Macedonian Dynasty, the political, military, cultural and economic power of the Roman Empire reached the last apex of its glory. The figure detailed in bloodstone here represents Christ, as is clear not only from the cross engraved on the back, but also from the garments he is wearing. It is likely that it is Christ as Pantocrator who is represented, maybe originally forming part of a more complex icon representing the Deesis. While this subject in Eastern Roman art is usually reserved for monumental decoration, it is sometimes found on smaller-scale objects as well, such as cameos and steatite icons.
