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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;medoraman, post: 2345687, member: 26302&quot;]Regarding Byzantine coins and seals. I would say the situation is a lot like Late Roman coins. The bronzes were done with less experienced celators. The gold coins and seals, (since seals were from powerful officials, you want to have a nice artistic work), were from the higher grade celators. There are many Byzantine gold coins I would put up against most other ancients in terms of artistry. True, the Byzantines did not strike in such high relief, since by this time coins were a commercial product and needed to be more usable in commerce. That hurts their artistry. But compare a Byzantine gold coin and make the ancient greek coin be of the same relief, and I believe the Byzantines hold up well.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also, you need to read about WHAT the Byzantines were trying to depict before you criticize their art. At times, like around Justinian, they weren&#039;t TRYING to be realistic. They were trying to convey the NON-worldly aspect of the emperor, how is is closer to God than you. Without knowing the intent of the art, its very hard to judge its merits IMHO. Actually, in the last century of its existence, the celators were actively trying to portray the emperor with as FEW LINES as possible, since at that time THIS was the measurement of highest artistic accomplishment.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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