The Missorium of Theodosius I is a large ceremonial silver dish preserved in the

Real Academia de la Historia The Royal Academy of History (, RAH) is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of c ...

, in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It was probably made in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

for the tenth anniversary (

decennalia Decennalia or Decennia (Latin for "10th Anniversary") were Ancient Roman festivals celebrated with games every ten years by the Roman emperors. The festival owed its origin to the fact that in 27 BC, Augustus refused the supreme power offered t ...

) in 388 AD of the reign of the Emperor

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

, the last Emperor to rule both the Eastern and Western Empires. It is one of the best surviving examples of

Late Antique Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodization has since been wide ...

Imperial imagery and one of the finest examples of late Roman goldsmith work. It is the largest and most elaborate, and the most famous, of the 19 surviving vessels believed to represent ''largitio'' ("largesse") or a "ceremonial gift given by the emperor to a civil or military official".

Iconography

The dish shows a hieratic image of the Emperor framed in an arcade, giving a document contained in a

diptych A diptych (, ) is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by a hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world was a diptych consisting of a pair of such plates that contained a ...

, possibly a letter of appointment, to a much smaller senior official, flanked by his two co-emperors,

Valentinian II Valentinian II (; 37115 May 392) was a Roman emperor in the western part of the Roman Empire between AD 375 and 392. He was at first junior co-ruler of his half-brother, then was sidelined by a usurper, and finally became sole ruler after 388, ...

and his own son

Arcadius Arcadius ( ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to his death in 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the eastern half of ...

, and bodyguards who can be identified by their hairstyles,

torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some have hook and ring closures and a few hav ...

s and shields as belonging to the German imperial bodyguard. The official receives the document with hands covered by his

chlamys The chlamys (; genitive: ) was a type of ancient Greek cloak. It was worn by men for military and hunting purposes during the Classical, Hellenistic and later periods. By the time of the Byzantine Empire it was part of the state costume of the ...

(cloak). Theodosius is shown far larger than the other figures, as is common in the hieratic

style, despite the fact that Valentinian II had been an Emperor for longer (he in turn is significantly larger than Arcadius or the unknown official). The three emperors have haloes which is usual at this period. Their clothing is early

Byzantine dress Byzantine dress changed considerably over the thousand years of the Empire, but was essentially conservative. The Byzantines liked colour and pattern, and made and exported very richly patterned cloth, especially Byzantine silk, woven and embroid ...

consistent with other Imperial portraits of the period. The two co-emperors have decorated ''tablions'' (patches showing rank attached to their main garment) at their knees, or possibly Epigonations (unattached ceremonial "handkerchiefs", which survive as an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

vestment). These would have been highly decorated with

embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...

and probably jewels. The official receiving the document wears clothes decorated with stripes and patches which would have been a kind of uniform for his office. The three Imperial figures have tightly curled hairstyles, and wear

diadem A diadem is a Crown (headgear), crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of Monarch, royalty. Overview The word derives from the Ancient Greek, Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", fro ...

s of

pearls A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

. Their cloaks are fastened with large circular jewelled

fibula The fibula (: fibulae or fibulas) or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. ...

e, comparable to that worn by

Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

in the mosaic at San Vitale,

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

, while the official has a "crossbow" fibula. The architectural surround has often been compared to a

peristyle In ancient Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture, a peristyle (; ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. ''Tetrastoön'' () is a rare ...

Diocletian's Palace Diocletian's Palace (, ; ) is an ancient Roman palace and fortress complex built at the end of the third century AD by the Roman Emperor Diocletian as his retirement residence. About half of the complex was for Diocletian's personal use, with th ...

Split, Croatia Split (, ), historically known as Spalato (; ; see #Name, other names), is the List of cities and towns in Croatia, second-largest city of Croatia after the capital Zagreb, the largest city in Dalmatia and the largest city on the Croatian coast ...

, where the emperor retired after abdicating his powers. This opens from the imperial residence to a courtyard that has been regarded as a setting for ceremonial audiences such as the one shown on the dish, but this interpretation is uncertain. Below the groundline of the imperial scene there is a scene of

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University ...

offering garlands and other objects, up to the Emperor above; with the two on the

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

above, there are five in total, and various significances have been given to this number, as representing years, "dioceses" of the Eastern Empire, or other things. Their offerings are held in hand-cloths, just as the official uses his clothes to receive his gift; it was considered disrespectful to hold bare hands out to the emperor. The putti fly above a reclining figure of Tellus or Terra, the Roman

earth goddess Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. Vaguer figures from

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

such as personifications, putti, and winged victories continued to be acceptable in Christian art of the Roman elite, and apparently retained for reasons of what we might call "cultural heritage", where representations of specific major deities were not. Tellus is shown in a pose that continues

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

style, rather than the frontal iconic Late Antique style of the figures in the upper zone. Any Christian imagery is noticeably absent. File:Disc of Theodosius (Valentinian II).png, Detail of Valentinian II. File:Disc of Theodosius (cropped).png, Detail of Theodosius I. File:Disc of Theodosius (Arcadius & soldiers).png, Detail of

Discovery and condition

The missorium comes from a treasure of silver objects that also included two plain silver cups, now missing, discovered by a labourer in 1847 in Almendralejo, close to Mérida in the Spanish province of

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

. When found it was folded flat along the line of the diagonal cut that now divides it into two pieces, which was made as part of an attempt to restore it, though an attempt at a cut along the same line may also have been made in antiquity. It is in good condition apart from the areas affected by this, but that it was folded may suggest it was being treated as bullion when deposited. The height of the silver relief varies, and is highest in the face of Theodosius and other highlights of the composition; much of the detail on the clothing is engraved.

A commemorative dish

The dish is one of the most beautiful examples of silversmith's work of imperial largesse, that is to say of the category of luxury articles made for imperial celebrations such as accession to the throne and anniversaries and given on these occasions by the emperor to high-ranking dignitaries of the empire: they were mainly dishes, plates, cups, and bowls in silver. The recipient may well be the official represented on the dish (possibly a generalized figure, especially if the design was made in several copies, which we cannot judge), and the find-spot in Spain, Theodosius's home province, suggests it was one of his Spanish friends or relations. A ''missorium'' is a large dish or shallow bowl that could be used in ceremonial washing of hands and face in both secular and pagan and Christian religious contexts, though this dish is too flat to be very useful for this, and was probably intended mainly to be displayed as a sign of wealth and imperial favour. The term now tends to be avoided by scholars, as rather imprecise, but has become traditional in the case of the dish in Madrid. This is made of solid silver and has traces of

gilding Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

on the inscriptions. Its size is exceptional compared to other contemporary silver dishes, measuring 74 cm in diameter with a thickness which varies between 4 and 8 mm. It rests on a ring, 3 cm thick with a diameter of 26 cm, which was welded to the base. This ring has a Greek inscription specifying the official weight of the object: ποc ↑Ν ΜεΤ, i.e. ποσότης λιτρῶν 50 μετάλλου (“50 metal pounds”) The 50 " pounds" correspond to an official weight of 16.13 kg of silver, whereas the dish actually weighs only 15.35 kg; the difference could be because the dish was weighed and marked before being decorated: a piece of the dish is also missing. The decoration, at the same time

engraved Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an inta ...

and with repoussé decoration (pushed out from the back), would have removed a little metal, although this is unlikely to account for the whole difference. The triumph of Constantius II

The subject of the decoration is the emperor enthroned with his co-reigning emperors. An inscription along the side of the rim makes it possible to identify him with certainty: ; “Our Lord Theodosius, emperor forever, on the most happy occasion of the tenth anniversary (of his reign).” The inscription indicates that the dish was made at the time of the decennalia of an emperor named Theodosius. The presence of two co-regents makes it possible to exclude immediately Theodosius II, for he had one co-regent — his uncle

Flavius Honorius Honorius (; 9 September 384 – 15 August 423) was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla. After the death of Theodosius in 395, Honorius, under the regency of Stilicho, ...

— at the time of the tenth anniversary of his reign, celebrated in 412. This leaves the decennalia of Theodosius I, on January 19 388. It was celebrated when the emperor was staying at

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

from September 387 to April 388. Some have concluded that the missorium was the work of a Thessalonician workshop, but it is more likely that it was ordered from the Imperial workshops in

; others think that the imperial workshop would have followed the emperor around on his travels. Few examples of this imperial silver have survived; only nineteen items, all dating from the 4th century and produced for six different emperors, though ten are for

Licinius Valerius Licinianus Licinius (; Ancient Greek, Greek: Λικίνιος; c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign, he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan that ...

. In this series, the missorium of

is distinguished because it is both the latest - although the practice probably continued for a further two centuries - and because it carries the most elaborate decoration: the only other well-preserved examples are the ''Kerch plate'', preserved at the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, showing

Constantius II Constantius II (; ; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civ ...

on horseback, and that of

Valentinian I Valentinian I (; 32117 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. He ruled the Western Roman Empire, Western half of the empire, while his brother Valens ruled the Byzantine Empire, East. During his re ...

in Geneva. A fragment from a treasure found at Groß Bodungen was probably the closest to the missorium of

in design, but is too damaged to allow an identification or a precise dating. Rather more examples have survived of aristocratic, rather than imperial silver, such as the

Mildenhall Treasure The Mildenhall Treasure is a large hoard of 34 masterpieces of Roman Empire, Roman silver tableware from the fourth century AD, and by far the most valuable Roman objects artistically and by weight of bullion in Britain. It may have been found ...

probably dating from a few years earlier, or the Sevso Treasure. Jutta Meischner relocates the Missorium of Theodosius to the 5th century AD, to the year 421. She argues, that the emperor is

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( ; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450), called "the Calligraphy, Calligrapher", was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire's sole emperor after the ...

, flanked by

Honorius Honorius (; 9 September 384 – 15 August 423) was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla. After the death of Theodosius in 395, Honorius, under the regency of Stilicho ...

to the right and

Valentinian III Valentinian III (; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the Western Roman Empire, West from 425 to 455. Starting in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by civil wars among powerful general ...

to the left. Meischner constitutes this interpretation by describing the Missorium as a work of distinctive style, quality of execution and workmanship seen in exemplary examples of Western Roman Empire. She argues that features like these are not consistent with the era of

. Arne Effenberger has argued against this interpretation, stating that Theodosius II became autocrat in the year 408 AD, so his 10th reign anniversary would have taken place in 418 and not in 421 AD. He believes that it is thus unlikely that anniversary specified in the inscription may date to the reign of Theodosius II. However, Meischner bases her argument on the inscription mentioning a tenth imperial anniversary was intended to celebrate the continuation of the dynasty ten years after coming to power Theodosius II in 418 AD, following his father Arcadius’ death in 408 AD. On the basis of the epigraphic evidence (a XV, as proposed by Alicia Canto, see above and below), she believes that it was most likely commissioned by

Galla Placidia Galla Placidia (392/3 – 27 November 450), daughter of the Roman emperor Theodosius I, was the mother and a tutor and advisor to emperor Valentinian III. She was queen consort to Ataulf, King of the Visigoths from 414 until his death in 415, ...

and produced in

in around 421 AD as a gift to her nephew Theodosius II. She concedes the reading of the Roman numerals inscribed on the missorium by Alicia Canto in her detailed study (that was presented in the same Madrid conference), as ‘quindecennalia’ the fifteenth imperial anniversary, as opposed to the common reading of ''decennalia'', gives us of a new perspective and reassessment of the history, the circumstances of the Missorium's commission by Galla Placidia and its intended functions and unresolved provenance.

Style

The dish is a leading example of the style of the so-called "Theodosian Renaissance", along with the base of the

Obelisk of Theodosius The Obelisk of Theodosius (, ) is the Ancient Egyptian obelisk of Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479–1425 BC), first erected during the 18th dynasty of Egypt. It was re-erected in the Hippodrome of Constantinople (known today as ''At Meydanı'' or ''Sul ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and the fragments surviving of his triumphal column there. This is the first stylistic phase that can be clearly linked with the new capital of

, and according to

Ernst Kitzinger Ernst Kitzinger FBA (December 27, 1912 – January 22, 2003) was a German-American historian of late antique, early medieval, and Byzantine art. Early life and education Kitzinger was born into a well-educated Jewish family in Munich; his fath ...

: "One senses that some strong artistic personality or personalities who set the tone and aesthetic standards were active at the centre of political power, stamping the monuments of this period with an unmistakable imprint". Despite limitations in terms of anatomical correctness, and a "soft, rubbery quality" in the nude bodies, the style has "an element of studied classicism" as well as "an insistence on clear, continuous and simplified outline, on neatness and regularity" in the figure of ''Terra/Tellus'', so that "Classicist form is oddly paired with linear abstract order", the latter more prominent in the upper zone, to lend an air of authority and "timelessness and absolute stability" to the imperial figures that was not required below.Kitzinger, 32

Notes

References

* Almagro-Gorbea, M., Álvarez Martínez, J.M., Blázquez Martínez, J.M., y Rovira, S. (eds.)
''El Disco de Teodosio''
Estudios del Gabinete de Antigüedaes 5, Madrid,

, 2000 (in Spanish and other languages; includes Kiilerich, Meischner and Canto above). *Canto, Alicia M.
Las ''quindecennalia'' de Teodosio I el Grande (19 de enero del 393 d. C.) en el gran clípeo de Madrid
''El Disco de Teodosio'', 289–300. *Hvalvik, R., "Christ Proclaiming the Law to His Apostles", in Aune, David Edward Aune and Fotopoulos, John (eds), ''The New Testament and Early Christian Literature in Greco-Roman Context: Studies in Honor of David E. Aune'', 2006, BRILL, , 9789004143043 * Kiilerich, Bente, "Representing an Emperor: Style and Meaning on the Missorium of Theodosius I", in Almagro Gorbea, Martín ''et al'', ''El Disco de Teodosio'
google books
* Kitzinger, Ernst, ''Byzantine art in the making: main lines of stylistic development in Mediterranean art, 3rd-7th century'', 1977, Faber & Faber, (US: Cambridge UP, 1977) *Leader-Newby, Ruth, ''Silver and Society in Late Antiquity: Functions and Meanings of Silver Plate in the Fourth to Seventh Centuries'', 2004, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., , 9780754607281
Google Books
* Jutta Meischner: ''Das Missorium des Theodosius in Madrid'', In: ''Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts'' 111 (1996) S. 389–432. bweichende Datierung des Theodosius-Missoriums* Jutta Meischner: "El Missorium de Teodosio : una nueva interpretación", ''El Disco de Teodosio'', pp. 233–252, Abb.

External links

Presentation belt section -Walters Art Museum

388 4th-century artifacts 1847 archaeological discoveries Byzantine art Late Roman Empire art Treasure troves in Spain Treasure troves of late antiquity Silver objects Early Christian art Theodosius I Ancient Roman metalwork Putti