Anonymous, second half of the 11th-12th century. Medallion (Bronze, 48 mm, 52.48 g, 12 h). IC - XC - I/Δ/૪ / H - [MHP] / C/૪ - I/Δ/Є / Ⲱ - V/O / C/૪ ('Jesus Christ - Behold, your mother! - Behold, your son!') The Crucifixion: Christ crucified, wearing a cloth around his waist and a large nimbus cruciger; in upper left and right fields, Sun and Moon; to left, Saint John; to right, the Mother of God; both nimbate; all within a pearled border intersected with globules. Rev. + H ANAC/TACHC / IC-XC The Resurrection: Christ advancing to right, raising Adam from Hell, Eve standing behind; between them, lock and key to the gates of Hell; all within a pearled border intersected with globules. Cf. S. Bendall: An Official Byzantine Religious Medallion or Amulet?, in: Numismatic Circular 98 (2010), 5-6 (for three related medaillons). Roma XVIII (2019), 1316 var. An exceptionally impressive medallion of the finest middle-Byzantine style. Good very fine.




This spectacular medallion depicts the Crucifixion (Staurosis in Greek) on one side, presented in the traditional scene with Saint John and the Mother of God. The inscription is drawn from the Gospel of John (19:26-27), which describes how Christ, seeing his mother and the beloved disciple at the foot of the Cross, said: 'Woman, behold your son!' to Mary, and 'Behold your mother!' to Saint John - after which the disciple took Mary into his own home.

The reverse of the medallion depicts the Resurrection (Anastasis in Greek), more specifically the Harrowing of Hell: the moment between the Crucifixion and Easter morning, when Christ descended triumphantly into the underworld to free the righteous who had died before his coming, beginning with Adam and Eve. Though the event is alluded to in various parts of the New Testament, the most detailed account appears in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus.

As a whole, the medallion celebrates Christ’s triumph over death and suffering, and affirms the promise of salvation for all true believers.