Late Roman Gold
Soldius of Licinia Eudoxia (“Marriage Issue”)
Roman, late Imperial–early Byzantine periods
About AD 430–445
Gold
This gold coin—minted in Ravenna—is rare in that both sides feature portraits of a Roman empress. It celebrates the marriage in 437 of Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of Theodosius II the emperor of the Roman East, to Valentinian III, the emperor of the Roman West. Although the two halves of the empire were governed separately, the marriage commemorated by the coin represented a happy reunion of sorts. These images of Licinia Eudoxia, a female ruler bedecked in jewels and enthroned, became a model for the representation of later Byzantine empresses, which in turn influenced the conception of the Virgin Mary as the Queen of Heaven.
Theodora Wilbour Fund in memory of Zoë Wilbour
2017.850Armlet
Roman, Late Imperial Period
AD late 3rd–early 4th century
Gold
This gold armlet is a rare luxury object from the later Roman Imperial period. Its decoration is executed in repoussé (metal worked from the reverse side) with details enhanced by the unusual enrichment of chasing (worked on the surface) with theater masks along its circumference. In technique and ornament, the armlet resembles gold adornments produced in the Roman East (Syria, Egypt). The armlet will be featured in the future Byzantine art gallery along with other precious works of art that reveal a continuous tradition of luxury arts from the Roman into the Byzantine period.
Benjamin and Lucy Rowland Fund, John J. Herrmann, Jr. Acquisition Fund for Classical Gold and Silver Objects, Dora Pintner Fund, and by exchange from Gift of Paul E. Manheim, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William de Forest Thomson, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius C. Vermeule III in the Name of Cornelius Adrian Comstock Vermeule, Gift of Richard R. Wagner, Gift of Mrs. Godfrey Peckitt, Gift of Frederick L. Jack, M. Elizabeth Carter Collection, Gift of Mrs. Samuel D. Warren, Museum purchase with funds donated by contribution, and Everett Fund, Gift of Miss M. Elizabeth Carter, M. Elizabeth Carter Collection—Gift of Nellie Parney Carter, Gift of Mrs. Edward Jackson Holmes, Gift of Benjamin W. Crowninshield, James Fund, Gift of Miss. Rebecca Salisbury, Gift of Mrs. Francis B. Lothrop, Mrs. George Batchelder, Jr., and Mrs. Gordon Abbott, Gift of Mrs. Willard Emery, Gift of Martin Brimmer, Gift of the Misses Amy and Clara Curtis, and Gift of Mrs. Jasper Whiting
2017.74