Anna Dalassene, nun and mother of the emperor (Alexios I Komnenos), 1081-1102. Seal (Lead, 25 mm, 12.28 g, 12 h). +KЄ RO/HΘI ANNH / AX TH ΔA/ΛACЄNH in five lines; below, decorations. Rev. TH MPI T૪ RACI/ΛEⲰC in three lines. Laurent, Corpus V.3, 2008. Zacos/Veglery 2696c. A seal of one of the most famous Byzantine noblewomen and therefore of high historical importance. Good very fine.


Anna Dalassene, born in 1025, is one of the most famous noble women of the later Byzantine empire. She was the sister-in-law of the emperor Isaac I, mother of the emperor Alexios I Komnenos and grandmother of princess and historian Anna Komnene. There are a number of seals bearing Anna's name, attesting different stages of her life. This seal type belongs to the last part of her life, after 1081, when she had retired to a monastery while her son Alexios was emperor.