Something About the Missorium of Theodosius

The old dogged tray.

My grandmother Mitchell had a silver platter she used for various fancy dinner parties last century or so and we pulled it out yesterday for Thanksgiving. Thankfully it was not used to serve yams. I was mildly sorry to hear one of the yams was out for too long and about half of it was a bit pungent for our needs. My daughter eventually decided to serve a frozen cranberry dessert on our silver platter. I don't know if this will stain or not.  

What Grandmother Mitchell's platter was not was a missorium, a decorated plate from Byzantine times used to mark the anniversaries of various occasions. There's a famous one with connection to Constantinople, though I doubt Johnny or the professor saw this one. It's the Missorium of Theodosius I, supposedly created for the tenth anniversary of his reign. For those keeping track he was the last emperor to rule both the Eastern and Western Roman Empires.

The dish shows a large image of the Emperor giving a document to a much smaller senior official, flanked by his two co-emperors, Valentinian II and his own son Arcadius. I can't help but think the entire thing looks like an image Marilyn Fitschen would have created for some sort of Fidgettine celebration (compare to the Apotheosis of Saint Fidgeta).

I noted Johnny likely did not see this during his days in because this was discovered in 1847 in Almendralejo, Spain.  You can fill in the blanks as to how it got there. Mumtāz!