Bysantti Pronssi Leivänleima - 28 mm

Rare Byzantine Bronze Bread Stamp with Figural Handle

Culture: Byzantine, Levant, 6th–7th Century AD

Material: Cast bronze
Weight: 20.41 g
Dimensions: Diameter 28 mm; total height 28 mm

A rare Byzantine bronze bread stamp featuring a distinctive design, comprising a circular base deeply engraved with decorative motifs and a sculptural handle depicting a kneeling male figure wearing an anklet, surmounted by a hollow suspension loop.

The engraved face displays a central motif enclosed within two concentric circular borders, surrounded by geometric marks and triangular strokes resembling Greek lettering. The central motif may represent a stylized benediction symbol associated with life and fertility, possibly depicting three grains or a simplified Christogram.

An additional engraved mark appears on one of the stamp’s arms, identified as the maker’s signature, reflecting an aspect of Byzantine stamp-making traditions, in which craftsmen used distinctive marks to identify their work or workshops.

Bread stamps were used during the Byzantine period to mark ordinary or Eucharistic bread before baking, conveying religious symbolism, blessing, or ownership. The combination of a figural handle and an engraved circular face reflects the artistic and functional traditions of Byzantine material culture in the Levant and Egypt.

The bronze exhibits a patina ranging from dark brown to green, with surface encrustations, while retaining the details of its engraved face and sculptural handle. It represents a striking example of small bronze objects that combined practical use with religious symbolism in the Byzantine period.

Condition: Excellent.

Acquired in 2025 from NUMIMANICA PRADOS, Spain, at the Madrid Numismatic Fair held on 27 June 2025.

Provenance:
The piece was previously part of a private collection in Spain, where it had been acquired from an art gallery in 1987.

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