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Byzantine Art :
Byzantine Metalwork : Byzantine Square Bronze Weight with Inlaid Silver Busts of Christ and Mary
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Byzantine Square Bronze Weight with Inlaid Silver Busts of Christ and Mary - X.0171
Origin: Eastern Mediterranean
Circa: 300
AD
to 600
AD
Dimensions:
1.75" (4.4cm) high
Collection: Biblical
Medium: Bronze, Silver
Location: Great Britain
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| Description |
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During the Byzantine era, weights and measures
were under the strict control of a centralized
administration. The weight system was based on
the Byzantine litra, derived from the late Roman
pound. This unit of measure was equal to the
weight of seventy-two solidi, the standard gold
coin of the Byzantine Empire introduced by
Constantine the Great in 309 A.D. Furthermore,
the litra could be divided into twelve ounces, the
ounce in turn into multiple of the scripulum, the
smallest unit of measure. Three materials were
traditionally employed in the manufacture of
Byzantine commodity and currency weights:
bronze, glass, and lead. Only in rare instances
were gold or silver used. There were also three
common shapes for these standard weights:
flattened spheres with truncated sides, squares,
and discs. It is believed that the square was the
predominant shape from the 4th to the 6th
century.
This square-shaped weight dates from this era
and is especially notable due to the inlaid silver
busts of the Virgin and Christ. An “S” inscribed
underneath the two busts reveals that this
weight would have been equal to the weight of a
solidus. While inlaid silver portraits on weights
are well-known, they are generally imperial
figures, and the depiction of saints and religious
figures is quite rare. Mary and Jesus are
portrayed crowned with stylized nimbus halos.
They are flanked by columns and a pair of arched
lines that rise over their heads and connect the
columns together, as if the artist was attempting
to recreate an architectural framework. Without
such weights, corruption and counterfeiting
would have run rampant. This gorgeous weight
reveals that religious piety was omnipresent in
all facets of Byzantine life, even in very
foundations of the economy.
- (X.0171)
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