Large Byzantine Enkolpion

455, Lot: 719. Estimate $1000. Sold for $600. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Byzantine. 5th-9th centuries AD. Æ Enkolpion (11.4cm). Theotokos facing, holding Holy Infant; MP – ΘV above / Theotokos standing facing, orans; Γ O/P C in two lines above. The two pieces hinged together, surmounted by suspension loop. Hollow reliquary case with nothing inside. Brown and green patina, earthen deposits. Essentially as made. Website shipping rates do not apply.

From the J. S. Wagner Collection.

On the first obverse, The Virgin Mary is portrayed as the “Mother of God,”holding the Holy Infant, Jesus. On the second obverse, she is shown in a posture of prayer, elbows close to the body, arms outstretched, palms upward, praying or pleading. These two portrayals were commonly seen in early Christian art. An Enkolpion hung on a chain upon the chest, and was typically worn by a bishop of the Eastern Orthodox Church.