Many aspects of Byzantine life can be revealed through the objects created and used during the Byzantine era. Understanding the relics used as objects in the Byzantine period is essential to understanding the culture, beliefs, and principles of the people who lived during this time. By closely observing common objects used in institutions of the Byzantine empire, one can better appreciate the society of the Byzantine people.
For example, take a common lead seal created by a government official known as the Kommerkiarios. The use of seals in the Byzantine Empire served a dual purpose: to to verify and secure the contents which it held. Byzantine seals were used to tress private communications and to authenticated the documents which the seal contained. The creation of the engraving on the seal would have been something personal to the individual who had the seal made, however today, the elements contained on these artifactual objects reveal to us aspects of the Byzantine world, particularly aspects of its martial, clerical and civil institutions. The seals, as stated earlier, provide central indication of an individual’s career as well as their presence and role in the Byzantine World during that time. The synoptic and identical choice of invocations reveal a religious society heavily defined by Christianity as well as trust in a divine intercessory powers. However, iconography on seals ranged from religious to secular. Religious images include images of the Virgin and Christ, various saints, and narratives from the Old and New Testament, as well as the Cross. More secular images includes aspects of Byzantine life, such as sports, as well as real and mythical creatures, thus revealing aspects of the Byzantine empire still rooted in ancient Greek and Roman culture.
The choice of inscriptions as well as their images reflect beliefs, principles, and perspectives of people of the Byzantine World who but for the existence of their seals would be lost forever. This is not just the case with seals though: artifacts such as coins, weights and other relics reveal aspects of Byzantine society as well. In this exhibit, one will see seals and other objects associated with Kommerkiarios, ,a fiscal position responsible for collecting taxes in the Byzantine Empire, and observe the invocations and iconography reflecting the culture and beliefs seen in a mercantile institution of the Byzantine World.
Credits
Daniel Bailey