Missorium of Theodosius I
Dublin Core
Title
Missorium of Theodosius I
Subject
Missorium of Theodosius I, 388, Roman, silver and silver gilt, diam: 74 cm, weight: 15.35 kg, Madrid, Academia de la Historia.
Description
Missorium of Theodosius I, 388, Roman, silver and silver gilt, diam: 74 cm, weight: 15.35 kg, Madrid, Academia de la Historia.
This silver dish, most likely made in Constantinople, was meant to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Theodosius I’s (r. 379-95) reign and would have been given as a gift to a member of his court or a civil or military officer as part of the ceremonial largitio (largess, giving of gifts). Other similar objects of this type have also been found. The dish depicts the seated emperor, flanked by his co-emperors, Valentinian II and Arcadius, as well as members of the imperial guard. Winged erotes (putti) offer gifts to the emperor. Below the emperor is a depiction of Tellus, the Roman earth goddess along with other mythological figures. An inscription on the ring at the base reads, in Greek: ποc ↑Ν ΜεΤ: ποσότης λιτρῶν 50 μετάλλου (“50 metal pounds”). This unit of measure corresponds to 16.13 kg of silver, slightly more than the official weight of 15.35 kg, but this difference has been attributed to the possibility that the silver was weighted before the dish was decorated as well as the fact that there is a piece missing. The dish itself was found folded flat along the diagonal cut in 1847 in Almendralejo in Spain.
Inscription:
D(ominus) N(oster) THEODOSIVS PERPET(uus)AVG(ustus)OB DIEM FELICISSIMVM X
“Our Lord Theodosius, perpetual emperor, on the happiest occasion of the tenth anniversary [of his reign].”
This silver dish, most likely made in Constantinople, was meant to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Theodosius I’s (r. 379-95) reign and would have been given as a gift to a member of his court or a civil or military officer as part of the ceremonial largitio (largess, giving of gifts). Other similar objects of this type have also been found. The dish depicts the seated emperor, flanked by his co-emperors, Valentinian II and Arcadius, as well as members of the imperial guard. Winged erotes (putti) offer gifts to the emperor. Below the emperor is a depiction of Tellus, the Roman earth goddess along with other mythological figures. An inscription on the ring at the base reads, in Greek: ποc ↑Ν ΜεΤ: ποσότης λιτρῶν 50 μετάλλου (“50 metal pounds”). This unit of measure corresponds to 16.13 kg of silver, slightly more than the official weight of 15.35 kg, but this difference has been attributed to the possibility that the silver was weighted before the dish was decorated as well as the fact that there is a piece missing. The dish itself was found folded flat along the diagonal cut in 1847 in Almendralejo in Spain.
Inscription:
D(ominus) N(oster) THEODOSIVS PERPET(uus)AVG(ustus)OB DIEM FELICISSIMVM X
“Our Lord Theodosius, perpetual emperor, on the happiest occasion of the tenth anniversary [of his reign].”
Source
https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/theodosius-missorium
Publisher
Academia de la Historia
Files
Collection
Citation
“Missorium of Theodosius I,” HAA Image Hosting, accessed May 14, 2026, https://haaimagehosting.omeka.fas.harvard.edu/items/show/315.
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