The Byzantine Lead Seals at the Pera Museum

Authors : Nilgun Elam, Christos Malatras, Yavuz Selim Güler

Pages : 197-216

Doi:10.37095/gephyra.1299257

View : 225 | Download : 191

Publication Date : 2023-11-12

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The collection of lead seals of the Pera Museum consists of 17 unpublished pieces, except for three lead seals (nos.1, 8, and 10) which are dated from the second half of the 7th century to the 13th century. Ten of the seventeen Byzantine lead seals of the Pera Museum collection mention the dignities and the offices of their owners. These offices range from the lower rank of a simple notary (no. 5) up to the highest office of the emperor himself (no. 9). There is only one seal related to the ecclesiastical administration, issued by a bishop (no. 2). Noteworthy are the seals of Georgios (no. 6), who has the uniquely attested office of an imperial apothekarios, as well as the 11th-century seal of Pharasmanes Apokapes, member of a notable Byzantine family of Armenian origin, by whom no other seals have been published so far. Another group of seals consists of the specimens (nos. 11-14 and possibly also no. 17) where only the name or the surname of their owner is mentioned. All these pieces are dated to the period between the second half of the 11th century and the 13th century. In the collection, there are two more iconographic seals (nos. 15-16) depicting on both sides holy figures without any inscription that mentions their owner, and finally, an unidentified seal (no. 17) (dated to the end of the 11th century).
Keywords : Bizans Kurşun Mühürleri, Pera Müzesi, Bizans Sigillografisi, Suna ve İnan Kıraç Vakfı, Konstantinos IX Monomachos, Pharasmanes Apokapes, Leon Mosele, imparatoriçenin topraklarının megas kouratoru

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