The Religious Figural Imagery of Byzantine Lead Seals II

The articles republished in this volume are ground-breaking studies that employ a large body of religious figural imagery of Byzantine lead seals ranging from the 6th to the 15th century. A number of the studies present tables, charts and graphs in their analysis of iconographic trends and changing popularity of saintly figures over time. And since many of the seals bear inscriptions that include the names, titles or offices of their owners, information often not given for the patrons of sacred images in other media, these diminutive objects permit an investigation into the social use of sacred imagery through the various sectors of Byzantine culture: the civil, ecclesiastical and military administrations. The religious figural imagery of the lead seals, accompanied by their owners' identifying inscriptions, offers a means of investigating both the broader visual piety of the Byzantine world and the intimate realm of their owners' personal devotions. Other studies in the volume are devoted to rare or previously unknown sacred images that demonstrate the value of the iconography of Byzantine lead seals for Byzantine studies in general.
This volume includes various articles focusing on sphragistic images of saints and on the religious imagery of Byzantine seals as a means of investigating the personal piety of seal owners, as well as the wider realm of the visual piety and religious devotions of Byzantine culture at all levels. A companion volume includes studies dedicated to the image of Christ, primarily found on imperial seals, various images of the Virgin, and narrative or Christological scenes. (CS1086).

John A. Cotsonis is the Director of the Archbishop Iakovos Library at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA, a Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and a Byzantine art historian specializing in the iconography of Byzantine lead seals. He is the author of Byzantine Figural Processional Crosses which is regarded as the standard work on the subject.

Introduction; Part 1: SAINTS' IMAGES ON SEALS; 1. Saints & Cult Centers: A Geographic & Administrative Perspective in Light of Byzantine Lead Seals; 2. An Eleventh-Century Seal with a Representation of Patriarch Antony II Kauleas; 3. The Contribution of Byzantine Lead Seals to the Study of the Cult of the Saints (Sixth-Twelfth Century); 4. 'What Shall We Call You, O Holy Ones?' (Martyrikon Automelon, Plagal 4th): Images of Saints and Their Invocations on Byzantine Lead Seals as Means of Investigating Personal Piety (6th-12th Centuries); 5. Choired Saints on Byzantine Lead Seals & Their Significance (Sixth-Twelfth Centuries): A Preliminary Report; 6. An Image of Saint Nicholas with the 'Tongues of Fire' on a Byzantine Lead Seal; Part 2: SPHRAGISTIC IMAGERY AND PERSONAL PIETY; 7. Onomastics, Gender, Office and Images on Byzantine Lead Seals: A Means of Investigating Personal Piety; 8. Religious Figural Images on Byzantine Lead Seals as a Reflection of Visual Piety during the Iconoclastic Controversy