Anonymous, circa 10th century. Medallion (Lead, 53 mm, 29.53 g, 12 h), 'Eulogia' of St. Symeon Stylites the Younger. +EVΛOΓIA TOV AΓI૪ CVMЄⲰN TO ΘAVMATOVPΓOV + AINЄITЄ TON ΘN ЄN TOIC AΓIOIC AVT૪ KC AΓAΠA ('Blessing of Saint Symeon the Miracle Worker. Praise God in his Saints. The Lord loves') Nimbate half-length bust of St. Symeon the Younger, wearing monastic hood and holding book of Gospels, seated on column, flanked by two flying angels; below, on the left side of the column, Symeon’s disciple Konon, nimbate, standing right; on the right side of the column, Symeon’s mother St. Martha, nimbate, standing left, both with their hands raised in gesture of supplication; ladder in the right field.
Rev. Large cross composed of lines and circles. CNG 334 (3 September 2014), lot 539. Cf. P. Verdier: A Medallion of Saint Symeon the Younger, in: The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Vol. 67, No. 1 (Jan. 1980) p. 17-26 (for a similar piece in the Cleveland Museum). Cf. G. Vikan: Art, Medicine, and Magic in Early Byzantium, in: DO Papers 38 (1984), p. 65-86, fig. 7. A well preserved token blessing with an interesting legend variant. Minor edge chipping. Good very fine.
From a European collection, formed before 2005.
The phrase 'Praise God in his Saints' is a quotation from Psalm 150 (first verse) and occurs regularly on this type of lead eulogia. Quite interestingly, our eulogia has an additional quotation from the Psalms, but incomplete. It is the first part of Psalm 145:8: 'The Lord loves the righteous'. The parallel piece in Cleveland quoted above has the full quotation, whereas our example omits the last word, evidently because there was no room left.
