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<p>[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 5361771, member: 75937"]The reverse motif on this <i>as</i>[1] of Faustina was used only for this denomination, which raises the question of whether it might have been issued for New Years day, for New Year's asses were sometimes struck with their own reverse types, not shared with other denominations.[2] Therefore, on this New Year's edition of Faustina Friday, I bring you this copper <i>as</i> featuring a depiction of Venus gripping the arms of a fully-armed Mars as if begging him not to go off to war.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1227533[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina II, AD 147-175.</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman Æ as, 11.96 g, 25 mm, 6 h.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rome, AD 170-175.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: VENERI VICTRICI S C, Venus standing right, placing both hands on the arm of Mars, standing facing, head left, holding round shield in left hand.</font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 1680; BMCRE 999-1001; Cohen 241; RCV 5305; MIR 42-7/10c.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>This reverse motif is unusual, if not unique,[3] in Roman numismatics, though not unusual in art history. The coin likely depicts a statuary group in the Forum Augustum,[4] unfortunately preserved in only very fragmentary form. What is left of that sculpture preserves part of the neck and upper chest of a male figure (nude except for a sword belt over the right shoulder) and the left hand and arm of another figure around his neck. These details are sufficient to indicate that the statue belongs to the series of other groups in Mars-Venus format.[5]</p><p><br /></p><p>Numerous statuary groups dating to the Antonine period which depict Mars and Venus -- with hairstyles popular during the mid second century reminiscent of the imperial family -- have been recovered during excavations of Rome and its environs. These statues have been found in both funereal and domestic archaeological contexts and appear to have been popular among the aristocratic classes, and were not imperial commissions.[6] Their purpose seems to have been to commemorate the virtue of married love.[7]</p><p><br /></p><p>Here are a few examples of such statuary groups.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1227568[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Sculpture group "Venus and Mars with portrait heads." Marble. Roman copy of ca. 170 CE after a Greek original of the 5th—4th century BCE. Rome, Roman National Museum, Inv. No. 108522.[8] Venus has a late Antonine coiffure and Mars is clean-shaven and therefore are not intended to represent any of the imperial couples of the period. This group was excavated in Ostia, but not in situ. It was discovered in 1918 within an Early Christian church but had clearly been moved there after being damaged, since in its complete state it was too large to fit through the church door. A funerary cippus was also found in the church, making a tomb context likely.[9]</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1227552[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Portrait group of Mars and Venus, c. AD 140, Musee du Louvre MA 1009.[10] This may have been created for an elite home, since it was found near Sta. Maria Maggiore on the Esquiline Hill in Rome, the site of many luxurious dwellings of the aristocracy.[11] Mars' hairstyle is similar to that of Hadrian, while Venus' is similar to that of Faustina II or Lucilla. </font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1227588[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Statuary group identified by many as <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Marcus_Aurelius_and_Faustina_the_Younger_as_Mars_and_Venus_-_Palazzo_Nuovo_-_Musei_Capitolini_-_Rome_2016.jpg&oldid=225781472" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Marcus_Aurelius_and_Faustina_the_Younger_as_Mars_and_Venus_-_Palazzo_Nuovo_-_Musei_Capitolini_-_Rome_2016.jpg&oldid=225781472" rel="nofollow">Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger as Mars and Venus</a>, now in Palazzo Nuovo, Musei Capitolini, Rome. (Photo by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jbribeiro1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jbribeiro1" rel="nofollow">Jbribeiro1</a> licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0" rel="nofollow">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>.) Indeed, the hairstyles and physical features of Venus and Mars do resemble the features of a young Faustina II and Marcus Aurelius quite closely. However, the findspot of this group, uncovered in 1750, was within the Isola Sacra necropolis. While this provenance does not necessarily rule out an imperial identification, it makes a connection with private funerary sculpture more probable.[12]</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1227605[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Sarcophagus with Mars-Venus group from Rome, c. AD 200-250, Munich, Künstlerhaus. This clearly demonstrates that this motif was indeed used in the funerary realm.[13]</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>These sculptures serve as a useful reminder that private portraits do not uniformly follow the hairstyles of the reigning imperial family; the "Zeitgesicht," as Smith has argued, is above all a "default setting."[14]</p><p><br /></p><p>What conclusions might we draw from the existence of such representations in Roman art of the Antonine period in terms of the purpose of this coin type in particular? I can only speculate. We know the coin illustrates an image familiar to Romans because it resembles a statuary group in the Forum. We know this motif was emblematic of Roman marriage. We know the coin was issued in the later years of Faustina's life, for it depicts her wearing the hairstyle seen on her posthumous issues. So, what event late in her life might this particular motif symbolize?</p><p><br /></p><p>Unlike earlier reverse types which depict Faustina as Fecunditas or Juno to commemorate the birth of children to the imperial family, this scene likely depicts Faustina as Venus Victrix (her warlike persona) and Marcus Aurelius as Mars. Mars is going off to war and Venus is begging him not to leave her. This coin illustrates something both martial and marital.</p><p><br /></p><p>I propose this was issued to commemorate Faustina II accompanying her husband on campaign in the early 170s, when she accompanied Marcus to the northern front, probably in what is now modern Hungary, during which she was awarded the honorific of Mater Castrorum (Mother of the Camps) in AD 174. This Venus Victrix coin might thus be seen as a parallel to the numerous Mars Victor issues of Marcus Aurelius issued between AD 171 and 174.</p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Of course, please post comments, coins of Venus and Mars, or anything you feel is relevant! </i></p><p><br /></p><p>~~~</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Nearly all of the museum specimens of this issue, when specified, are classified as asses. All three specimens in the British Museum are asses (Mattingly, BMCRE4, p. 543); as are the <a href="http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.m_aur.1680" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.m_aur.1680" rel="nofollow">specimens of this coin in multiple European collections</a> at OCRE.</p><p><br /></p><p>2. Curtis Clay ([USER=89514]@curtislclay[/USER]), post #5 in "Faustina Friday -- a Pondersome Dupondius." <i>Coin Talk</i>, <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-a-pondersome-dupondius.372253/#post-5311634" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-a-pondersome-dupondius.372253/#post-5311634">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-a-pondersome-dupondius.372253/#post-5311634</a></p><p><br /></p><p>3. It is not noted as such at Warren Esty's ([USER=44316]@Valentinian[/USER]) <a href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/unique/unique.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/unique/unique.html" rel="nofollow">page about unique reverse types</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>4. Kousser, Rachel. "Mythological Group Portraits in Antonine Rome: The Performance of Myth." <i>American Journal of Archaeology</i>, vol. 111, no. 4, 2007, pp. 673–691., doi:10.3764/aja.111.4.673. See p. 675 in particular. Available <a href="https://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/Art%20History/Art%20History%20Admin/Handbooks/KousserAJA2007-(1).pdf" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/Art%20History/Art%20History%20Admin/Handbooks/KousserAJA2007-(1).pdf" rel="nofollow">online</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>5. Rome, Musei dei Fori Imperiali, inv. no. 2563. See Ungaro, Lucrezia, and Marina Milella. <i>The Places of Imperial Consensus: the Forum of Augustus, the Forum of Trajan: Catalog</i>. Progetti Museali, 1995, pp. 48 ff. Summarized in Kousser,<i> op. cit</i>., p. 681.</p><p><br /></p><p>6. Kousser,<i> op. cit</i>., p. 676.</p><p><br /></p><p>7. <i>Ibid.</i>, pp. 674, 679ff.</p><p><br /></p><p>8. "Sculpture Group 'Venus and Mars' with Portrait Heads. Rome, Roman National Museum, Baths of Diocletian, Small Cloister of the Certosa (Roma, Museo Nazionale Romano, Terme Di Diocleziano)." <i>Rome, Roman National Museum, Baths of Diocletian, Small Cloister of the Certosa (Roma, Museo Nazionale Romano, Terme Di Diocleziano)</i>, ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/img.htm?id=6909.</p><p><br /></p><p>9. Kousser,<i> op. cit</i>., p. 677.</p><p><br /></p><p>10. "Work Imperial Group as Mars and Venus." <i>Imperial Group as Mars and Venus | Louvre Museum | Paris</i>, <a href="http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/imperial-group-mars-and-venus" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/imperial-group-mars-and-venus" rel="nofollow">www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/imperial-group-mars-and-venus</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>11. Kousser,<i> op. cit</i>., p. 678.</p><p><br /></p><p>12. <i>Ibid.</i>, pp. 676-77.</p><p><br /></p><p>13. <i>Ibid.</i>, p. 680.</p><p><br /></p><p>14. Smith, R. R. R. "Cultural Choice and Political Identity in Honorific Portrait Statues in the Greek East in the Second Century A.D." <i>Journal of Roman Studies</i>, vol. 88, 1998, pp. 56–93., doi:10.1017/s0075435800044117, p. 59.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 5361771, member: 75937"]The reverse motif on this [I]as[/I][1] of Faustina was used only for this denomination, which raises the question of whether it might have been issued for New Years day, for New Year's asses were sometimes struck with their own reverse types, not shared with other denominations.[2] Therefore, on this New Year's edition of Faustina Friday, I bring you this copper [I]as[/I] featuring a depiction of Venus gripping the arms of a fully-armed Mars as if begging him not to go off to war. [ATTACH=full]1227533[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Faustina II, AD 147-175. Roman Æ as, 11.96 g, 25 mm, 6 h. Rome, AD 170-175. Obv: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: VENERI VICTRICI S C, Venus standing right, placing both hands on the arm of Mars, standing facing, head left, holding round shield in left hand. Refs: RIC 1680; BMCRE 999-1001; Cohen 241; RCV 5305; MIR 42-7/10c.[/SIZE][/INDENT] This reverse motif is unusual, if not unique,[3] in Roman numismatics, though not unusual in art history. The coin likely depicts a statuary group in the Forum Augustum,[4] unfortunately preserved in only very fragmentary form. What is left of that sculpture preserves part of the neck and upper chest of a male figure (nude except for a sword belt over the right shoulder) and the left hand and arm of another figure around his neck. These details are sufficient to indicate that the statue belongs to the series of other groups in Mars-Venus format.[5] Numerous statuary groups dating to the Antonine period which depict Mars and Venus -- with hairstyles popular during the mid second century reminiscent of the imperial family -- have been recovered during excavations of Rome and its environs. These statues have been found in both funereal and domestic archaeological contexts and appear to have been popular among the aristocratic classes, and were not imperial commissions.[6] Their purpose seems to have been to commemorate the virtue of married love.[7] Here are a few examples of such statuary groups. [ATTACH=full]1227568[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Sculpture group "Venus and Mars with portrait heads." Marble. Roman copy of ca. 170 CE after a Greek original of the 5th—4th century BCE. Rome, Roman National Museum, Inv. No. 108522.[8] Venus has a late Antonine coiffure and Mars is clean-shaven and therefore are not intended to represent any of the imperial couples of the period. This group was excavated in Ostia, but not in situ. It was discovered in 1918 within an Early Christian church but had clearly been moved there after being damaged, since in its complete state it was too large to fit through the church door. A funerary cippus was also found in the church, making a tomb context likely.[9][/SIZE][/INDENT] [ATTACH=full]1227552[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Portrait group of Mars and Venus, c. AD 140, Musee du Louvre MA 1009.[10] This may have been created for an elite home, since it was found near Sta. Maria Maggiore on the Esquiline Hill in Rome, the site of many luxurious dwellings of the aristocracy.[11] Mars' hairstyle is similar to that of Hadrian, while Venus' is similar to that of Faustina II or Lucilla. [/SIZE][/INDENT] [ATTACH=full]1227588[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Statuary group identified by many as [URL='https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Marcus_Aurelius_and_Faustina_the_Younger_as_Mars_and_Venus_-_Palazzo_Nuovo_-_Musei_Capitolini_-_Rome_2016.jpg&oldid=225781472']Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger as Mars and Venus[/URL], now in Palazzo Nuovo, Musei Capitolini, Rome. (Photo by [URL='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jbribeiro1']Jbribeiro1[/URL] licensed under [URL='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0']CC BY-SA 4.0[/URL].) Indeed, the hairstyles and physical features of Venus and Mars do resemble the features of a young Faustina II and Marcus Aurelius quite closely. However, the findspot of this group, uncovered in 1750, was within the Isola Sacra necropolis. While this provenance does not necessarily rule out an imperial identification, it makes a connection with private funerary sculpture more probable.[12][/SIZE][/INDENT] [ATTACH=full]1227605[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Sarcophagus with Mars-Venus group from Rome, c. AD 200-250, Munich, Künstlerhaus. This clearly demonstrates that this motif was indeed used in the funerary realm.[13][/SIZE][/INDENT] These sculptures serve as a useful reminder that private portraits do not uniformly follow the hairstyles of the reigning imperial family; the "Zeitgesicht," as Smith has argued, is above all a "default setting."[14] What conclusions might we draw from the existence of such representations in Roman art of the Antonine period in terms of the purpose of this coin type in particular? I can only speculate. We know the coin illustrates an image familiar to Romans because it resembles a statuary group in the Forum. We know this motif was emblematic of Roman marriage. We know the coin was issued in the later years of Faustina's life, for it depicts her wearing the hairstyle seen on her posthumous issues. So, what event late in her life might this particular motif symbolize? Unlike earlier reverse types which depict Faustina as Fecunditas or Juno to commemorate the birth of children to the imperial family, this scene likely depicts Faustina as Venus Victrix (her warlike persona) and Marcus Aurelius as Mars. Mars is going off to war and Venus is begging him not to leave her. This coin illustrates something both martial and marital. I propose this was issued to commemorate Faustina II accompanying her husband on campaign in the early 170s, when she accompanied Marcus to the northern front, probably in what is now modern Hungary, during which she was awarded the honorific of Mater Castrorum (Mother of the Camps) in AD 174. This Venus Victrix coin might thus be seen as a parallel to the numerous Mars Victor issues of Marcus Aurelius issued between AD 171 and 174. [I] Of course, please post comments, coins of Venus and Mars, or anything you feel is relevant! [/I] ~~~ 1. Nearly all of the museum specimens of this issue, when specified, are classified as asses. All three specimens in the British Museum are asses (Mattingly, BMCRE4, p. 543); as are the [URL='http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.3.m_aur.1680']specimens of this coin in multiple European collections[/URL] at OCRE. 2. Curtis Clay ([USER=89514]@curtislclay[/USER]), post #5 in "Faustina Friday -- a Pondersome Dupondius." [I]Coin Talk[/I], [URL]https://www.cointalk.com/threads/faustina-friday-a-pondersome-dupondius.372253/#post-5311634[/URL] 3. It is not noted as such at Warren Esty's ([USER=44316]@Valentinian[/USER]) [URL='http://augustuscoins.com/ed/unique/unique.html']page about unique reverse types[/URL]. 4. Kousser, Rachel. "Mythological Group Portraits in Antonine Rome: The Performance of Myth." [I]American Journal of Archaeology[/I], vol. 111, no. 4, 2007, pp. 673–691., doi:10.3764/aja.111.4.673. See p. 675 in particular. Available [URL='https://www.gc.cuny.edu/CUNY_GC/media/CUNY-Graduate-Center/PDF/Art%20History/Art%20History%20Admin/Handbooks/KousserAJA2007-(1).pdf']online[/URL]. 5. Rome, Musei dei Fori Imperiali, inv. no. 2563. See Ungaro, Lucrezia, and Marina Milella. [I]The Places of Imperial Consensus: the Forum of Augustus, the Forum of Trajan: Catalog[/I]. Progetti Museali, 1995, pp. 48 ff. Summarized in Kousser,[I] op. cit[/I]., p. 681. 6. Kousser,[I] op. cit[/I]., p. 676. 7. [I]Ibid.[/I], pp. 674, 679ff. 8. "Sculpture Group 'Venus and Mars' with Portrait Heads. Rome, Roman National Museum, Baths of Diocletian, Small Cloister of the Certosa (Roma, Museo Nazionale Romano, Terme Di Diocleziano)." [I]Rome, Roman National Museum, Baths of Diocletian, Small Cloister of the Certosa (Roma, Museo Nazionale Romano, Terme Di Diocleziano)[/I], ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/img.htm?id=6909. 9. Kousser,[I] op. cit[/I]., p. 677. 10. "Work Imperial Group as Mars and Venus." [I]Imperial Group as Mars and Venus | Louvre Museum | Paris[/I], [URL='http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/imperial-group-mars-and-venus']www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/imperial-group-mars-and-venus[/URL]. 11. Kousser,[I] op. cit[/I]., p. 678. 12. [I]Ibid.[/I], pp. 676-77. 13. [I]Ibid.[/I], p. 680. 14. Smith, R. R. R. "Cultural Choice and Political Identity in Honorific Portrait Statues in the Greek East in the Second Century A.D." [I]Journal of Roman Studies[/I], vol. 88, 1998, pp. 56–93., doi:10.1017/s0075435800044117, p. 59.[/QUOTE]
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