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Description: | Complete cast circular lead seal with a design on either face, in almost perfect condition. The seal, or 'papal bulla' is of Pope Alexander IV (1254-1261). The obverse depicts the busts of St Peter and St Paul each within an inverted pear shaped compartment defined by pellets. On the right, St Peter's beard and hair are shown to be curly by the use of pellets. On the left, St Paul's beard is portrayed as being long, straight and pointed, whilst his hair is straight and swept back. There is a cross pattee supported on a staff between the busts. At the top of the bulla in the centre are the letters 'SPASPE', abbreviations for St Paul and St Peter.The reverse of the bulla has the following letters over three lines. ALE/XANDER/.PP.IIII. The PP means 'pastor pastorum', translated as 'shepherd of the shepherds'. There is an omega above the letters PP. Both obverse and reverse faces have a pelleted perimeter.The hole for the attachment chord is now closed up, originally running from top to bottom through the centre of the seal. Both face designs are aligned the same, i.e. they have a die axis of 0.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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