Here's an interesting little follis I have. Constantinople mint Michael II the Amorian and Theophilus, AE Follis, 23 mm 6.2 grams 820-829 A.D. Michael supported iconoclasm, which disallowed the use of icons in favor of script and and related artistic themes which almost certainly was a reflection of the influence of Islam on Byzantine art. Nevertheless, coins featuring the visage of the rulers were still struck. A bit dark - one I need to re-photograph...
View attachment 1078562 View attachment 1078560 oldfinecollector, That is a fine selection of handsome Byzantine coins ! Pictured below are 2 favorites in my collection . Anonymous AE Follis, circa AD 976 - 1065, 10.48 mm, 29 mm, 6 h. Sear 1813
@Al Kowsky those are both great examples of their types. The anonymous follis is virtually uncirculated, probably the best one I have ever seen.
A.C.H., Thanks for the kind remarks . Enjoying Byzantine coinage is an acquired taste . I think Wayne Sayles said it best: "In contrast to the sculptural idealism of Classical Greek coinage & the stark verism of Roman numismatic art, the coins of the Eastern Roman emperors are often crude & emotionless. For this reason, they were looked down upon by the collecting community for centuries. Only in recent decades have the images been recognized as spiritual abstractions rather than inept draftsmanship". I've found collectors of Byzantine coinage usually have a greater appreciation for Celtic coinage too.
Wonderful the most beautiful ones I saw thanks to show us. The Celtic ones are very abstract particularly lingones and the Roman state that celts were too creative for arts in some way. Byzantines and celts jewels are also masterpieces.
Freshly received in the post! Nicomedia mint, 13 year officina 2, just like Al Kowsky's from a couple of posts above, only his has 2 great sides but mine is unfortunately lacking a bit on the Justinian head's side. Probably due to all the kissing (That's a little theory of mine.. In the Eastern Orthodox church we have a habit of venerating icons of saints which pretty much means kissing them, a lot. Justinian was canonised, so he is an official saint. If you own a histamenon nomisma or any other Byzantine coin with Christ on it, it is a good assumption that it has been kissed thousands of times. Maybe that's why it is hard to find a depiction of Christ that is not worn out!). I wanted a Justinian to be my first Byzantine coin as he is one of the most important emperors. He would not be as memorable though if it wasn't for his wife Theodora... Early on his reign she stopped him from fleeing during the infamous Nika riots (the first documented act of mass sports hooliganism), and he eventually became one of the most succesful emperors (mainly by spending the great surplus left by one of his predecessors Anastasius).
Nice Byzantines. Here are my two latest folles: Holed, but affordable: Justinian I Æ Follis Year 20 (546-547 A.D.) Nicomedia Mint DN IVSTINIANVS PP AVG, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, holding cross/globe and shield, cross right / Large M, ANNO left, cross above, XX right, B below, NIKO in exergue. SB 201; DOC 117b. (18.00 grams / 32 mm) Maurice Tiberius Æ Follis Year 7 (588-589 A.D.) Constantinople Mint DN MAVRIC TIBER PP AVG, Helmeted and cuirassed bust facing, holding cross on globe & shield / Large M, ANNO left, cross above, ς I year right, Officina A below; CON in ex. SB 494; MIB 65d-67d. (11.09 grams / 27 x 25 mm)
No, not really. There's overwhelming evidence that the Byzantines simply lacked the artistic refinement required to render high-end, realistic portraiture (and what they had was undeniably several orders of magnitude better than elsewhere in Dark Ages Europe). This has always gone hand in hand with the state of the economy. The Hellenistic high point in art coincided with their affluence. Rome's level of artistry likewise closely parallels its own ups and downs. Great portraiture wouldn't be seen again until the Renaissance as a direct result of the wealth gained from Venetian trade routes. Highly refined artistry required a heavy investment in education which, of course, was a luxury dependent on the fortunes of state. Rasiel
I think Byzantine artists were capable of beautiful, sublime artwork in the "western" mode. My guess (and it is a guess) is that the Byzantines did not consider coinage particularly worthwhile in terms of art - which is to say the guys working at the mint were not "artists" so much as workers. But when it came to religion, the Byzantines were capable of stunning, "realistic" work. Here is Christ Pantocrator at the Hagia Sophia (from Wikipedia): By Dianelos Georgoudis - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33098123 A coin portrait of Justinian from roughly the same time - not so refined, almost cartoonish, although it has a certain royal hauteur, I think, is in my post above.
I am afraid this is not the case. If there is overwhelming evidence for something is for the exact opposite. It is not that people suddenly forgot how to draw, it is just that the artistic priorities drastically changed in the Byzantine empire and Christianity played a massive role in this. Realistic portraiture simply fell out of fashion in favour for a more abstract style that was in line with the teachings of the Orthodox Church. The old style art was associated with paganism and idolatry and it was frowned upon. The Byzantine empire was rich and powerful enough and that was evident in many sectors such as architecture, and social structure. There was plenty of art, but it was different and of the austere kind. There was alot of debate about this even then, and it even led to the iconoclasm movement of the 8th century. People were redefining what was permissible in art all the time. And that happens today too. Take for example what passes for modern art nowdays. The future historians might find themselves baffled and make up all kinds of excuses and theories about what happened in art between the 19th and 20th/21st centuries. Similarly, the Victorians unfamiliar with Eastern traditions and attitudes made the wrong assumption that 'art' was forgotten in Byzantium. This attitude changed over the time and one of the pioneers of that was Sir Steven Runciman, and I would strongly reccomend his books to anyone interested in the Byzantine empire.
Sorry I am not agree with you. I have studied Byzantines art at university and got an extensive experience traveling and visiting many of important Byzantines spots from Ravenna, Greece.... the coins are part of the beautiful of Byzantines art but you must be prepared to appreciate it like Celtic art or even African art. In Italy Byzantines art is stil important as is Hellenic or Roman art for fashion, Jewellery... Most of the follis ans coins where in bronze or cupped so in collection they are for most of them too wear to appréciate them. The Byzantines coinage was for a century and with crisis too. In US you got some of the most important collections of Byzantines coins like Havard but it was neglected for a long time before Philip Grierson UK scholar was appointed. When you study more. Byzantines art you love it and their coins like celtics ones. I understand that many people still think it is a dark age a bit like Game of the throne but it wasn’t at all. I as like you before studying celts Art history thinking they were barbarous... I am selfish so I don’t want too many collectors that fall in love as I can still buy gold solidus or extremely rare coins at affordable prices for my budget. Sorry for my wording as my mother-tongue is not english even if I got a BA
I regret the tendency of humans to subscribe to the theory exposed by that great British philosopher Mick Jagger: "He can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as me." Perhaps another British philosopher, Ian Kilmister, summed it up better: "In all the years you spend between your birth and death, you know there's lots of times when you should've saved your breath." We will never agree on things like relative merits of art styles but many of us refuse to believe they can be wrong about anything. I prefer Archaic Greek art to Classical. I can deal with you not agreeing.
