20676

Two Byzantine lead seals Licinia Eudoxia

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:4,000.00 USD Estimated At:4,000.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
Two Byzantine lead seals Licinia Eudoxia
Two Byzantine lead seals with imperial figures, including a possible portrait of Licinia Eudoxia. Ca. 5th - 6th century AD. Dia. 47 mm and 29 mm. The larger of the two seals depicts the frontal head of a Byantine empress, wearing a radiate crown surmounted by a cross, and strands of pearls which cascade down on either side of the head and are also wrapped around the neck; on the reverse there is a large monogram composed of the letters MXP. Although somewhat stylized, the portrait head of the woman on the seal is very similar in appearance to numismatic depictions of the empress Licinia Eudoxia (cf. C.5 for a solidus of the empress), showing the same exact type of headdress. Also included is a smaller seal with the facing bust of an emperor helmeted, cuirassed and holding shield and lance, reminiscent of the type of bust prevalent on the obverses of late Roman and early Byzantine solidi (in mirror reversal); on the reverse there are six lines of Greek inscription which are difficult to decipher. The light brown sandy encrustation suggests that the two seals belong together. Extremely rare, early seals, particularly if the attribution to Eudoxia is correct.

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