★ Byzantine lead seal of Constantinos Skleros proedros ★

Byzantine lead seal of Constantinos Skleros proedros
(ca 11th cent.).

Obverse: Archangel Michael standing facial, nimbate, winged, in imperial garments, holding stick with Christogram on top and cruciger globe (mappa mundi), sigla in either side, Μ/Ι-Χ/Α(ΗΛ) ([Archangel] Michael), all within dotted border.
Reverse: Inscription in 5 lines between decorative patterns and cross, ΓΡΑΦΑC/[C]ΦΡΑΓΙΖΩ/ΠΡΟΕΔΡΟV/ΚΩΝ,ΤΟVC/ΚΛΗΡΟ(V) = Γραφὰς σφραγίζω προέδρου Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ Σκληροῦ (I [hereby] seal the writings of proedros Constantinos Skleros), all within dotted border.
Commentary: For parallel seals cf. W. Seibt, «Zwischen Identifizierungsrausch und -verweigerung: Zur Problematik synchroner homonymer Siegel», in: C. Ludwig (ed.): Siegel und Siegler, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien, p. 141-145, no. 12. Werner Seibt showed that several members of the famous Skleros family were named Constantinos in the 11th century, and at least some of them must be contemporaneous. It is likely that all seals with a standing St. Michael on the obverse belong to the same person: our seal, which mentions the high court dignity of proedros (Seibt 11), a similar type with Seibt 12 and three other pieces with differing legend compositions (Seibt 8-10). Seibt 13, a seal with a half-length bust of St. Michael on the obverse, apparently belongs to the same official, but it comes from an earlier stage of his career, when he was kouropalates. It also mentions the military office of doux. The seal published by Seibt only had a fragmentary legend, but a recently surfaced example in fact confirmed his reading (Obolos 11 (2018), 776, but erroneously dated to the late 10th century).

Condition: Very Fine

Weight: 17.5 gr
Diameter: 27 mm