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Byzantine Bronze "Bread Stamp"
Circa 5th-6th Century AD
Description: Sturdy bronze 'bread stamp' with two inscribed lines of text. The stamp is rectangular in shape with rounded corners and has a round-in-section loop handle soldered onto the reverse side. The two rows of letters are separated by a single incised line and framed by and incised double rectangular. It was common for the inscriptions not to be in reverse on the actual stamp so that it appeared reversed on the bread, as seems to be the case with the stamp in this example.
Length: 2.1 in. (5.3 cm)
Condition: Intact with crisp inscription..
Provenance: Formerly a German property.
Reference: See Bread and the Liturgy: The Symbolism of Early Christian and Byzantine Bread Stamps (University of Wisconsin Press 1970) by George Galavaris, fig. 20 as well as pgs. 38-39 for the type.
Background: In Roman times, such stamps may have marked salves, medications and other perishable organic compounds. While in Byzantine times, the stamps tend towards the more specific purpose of marking liturgical breads for the Eucharist.
Price: $ 950
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