Solidus (Coin) of Basil I with Christ Enthroned
868–870
Medium
Gold
Dimensions
Diam.: 2 cm (13/16 in.)
Classification
coin
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
36654
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The imagery of Byzantine coins, as well as their use—or not—of religious imagery, reflects the different attitudes toward representation of divine figures as a result of the Iconoclastic (from the Greek eikon, or image, and klao, to break) Controversy, a fierce debate among Byzantine theologians over the appropriate role of images in religious worship that raged in Byzantium for over 100 years from about 730 to 843. In a radical departure from the numismatic imagery of iconoclast emperors, the ...
About the Artist
Byzantine
"Byzantine" is the collective attribution given to anonymous artists working within the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, whose creations spanned from the 4th to the 15th centuries, primarily in Constantinople and its cultural sphere. These masters produced a vast body of art that defined an era, with museums like the Walters Art Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago cataloging numerous works un...