Missorium of Theodosius I

The Missorium of Theodosius I is a large ceremonial silver dish preserved in the Real Academia de la Historia, in Madrid, Spain. It was probably made in Constantinople for the tenth anniversary (decennalia) in 388 of the reign of the Emperor Theodosius I, the last Emperor to rule both the Eastern and Western Empires. It is one of the best surviving examples of Late Antique 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".

The dish shows a hieratic image of the Emperor framed in an arcade, giving a document contained in a diptych, possibly a letter of appointment, to a much smaller senior official, flanked by his two co-emperors, Valentinian II and his own son Arcadius, and bodyguards who can be identified by their hairstyles, torcs and shields as belonging to the German imperial bodyguard. The official receives the document with hands covered by his chlamys (cloak).

This iconography is related to that known as the Traditio legis, which was transferred from Late Antique Imperial art to Christian art, eventually developing into the iconic "Christ in Majesty". Theodosius is shown far larger than the other figures, as is common in the hieratic Late Antique 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. Although all were Christians, there are no specific Christian elements in the iconography, and the lower zone contains specifically pagan imagery, as some Late Antique Christian art continued to do.

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