Here are two of the new additions to my collection. the first one is a VICTORIAE SARMATICAE with eagles on the turrets Diocletian A.D. 295 AR Argenteus 19mm 3.3g DIOCLETIANVS AVG; laureate head right. VICTORIAE SARMATICAE; four turreted camp-gate, open, with doors thrown back; each turret surmounted by facing eagle. In ex. SMNΓ RIC VI Nicomedia 22a and the second is an unofficial issue. Diocletian circa A.D. 295 DIOCLETIANVS AVG; laureate head right. VIRTVS MILITVM; four tetrarchs sacrificing over tripod before gate in six turreted enclosure. in exergue [?] the above coin is copying something like this --
Great additions!!! I've always liked the portraits from Nicomedia on argentei because of they remind me (style wise) of the portraits of the tetrarchs in Venice.
Stunning examples, @Victor_Clark. ...Um, not sure of the relevance, but in @JayAg47's thread, My First Siliqua!, I got into how the architectural motif on the reverse of your last three (of which @seth77 had another impressive example) is echoed in manuscript illustrations of the Carolingian and late Anglo-Saxon periods. Namely the Utrecht Psalter, c. early or mid-9th c., and the early 11th-c. copy, the Harley Psalter. Not sure if the links will go directly to the leaf in question, but the first one that jumps out, in both cases, is Folio 5 recto, above the beginning of Psalm 9: http://psalter.library.uu.nl/page?p=16&res=2&x=0&y=1 http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=harley_ms_603_fs001r It's easy to speculate that, as a kind of visual meme, the architectural motif would have found its way onto late Classical manuscripts. Which, in turn, would be the 'go-to' inspiration during the Carolingian Renaissance. Both manuscripts demonstrate a lot of this kind of neo-classical, quasi-aerial perspective. Too bad that was effectively lost over succeeding centuries. ...With thanks to @seth77 for prodding me to actually find examples of what I was otherwise yammering about off the top of my head.
The Utrecht Psalter is a beauty. Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death, that I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion.
It can mean either...I think the big difference is intent. Was it meant to deceive or minted for other reasons, like shortage. This one, though, is what many would call "barbarous" but I prefer the term unofficial; especially as many barbarous coins are actually pretty good in style, so not barbarous at all.
Insightful (and Cool) observation, @Romancollector. ...Is it the Arch of Constantine that appropriated c. 2nd-c. reliefs from someone else's, which provide instant, glaring contrast to the contemporaneous ones on the same arch?
Yes I believe it incorporated reliefs that date to the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius. I've taken one too many Roman history/art/architecture courses, and this arch is frequently discussed to demonstrate the trend of using spolia in late antiquity.
Thanks, @Romancollector. Just from, what, maybe (Stand Back: ) 200-level courses in Art History, this was already something on the academic agenda. In terms of spolia, per se? Not so sure.
I like the UNOFFICIAL the best of the three! It has a very distinctive look that I enjoy. Congrats, @Victor_Clark .
Both are great! I've been wanting one with the eagles on the turrets. Here's my Maximianus VICTORIAE SARMATICAE from the same officina, but without the eagles. MAXIMIANUS AR Argenteus. 3.11g, 17.9mm. Nicomedia mint, circa AD 295-296. RIC VI Nicomedia 25b; RSC 553c. O: MAXIMIANVS AVG, laureate head right. R: VICTORIAE SARMATICAE, campgate with four turrets, doors open, and star above archway; SMNΓ in exergue.