FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board
Numismatic and History Discussion Forums => Byzantine Coins Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Simon on December 25, 2022, 08:35:49 am
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I was given a gift last night, a work of art that encompassed a half stravraton of Manuel II (1391-1425). I picked the coin and my wife; she picked the artist. I ended up with a beautiful gift.
I work and sell art for a living, and it has made me very attracted to the late style of Byzantine Art, In the last few years I became attracted to the philosophy of Spiritualism. Byzantine coinage with its many abstract portraits are created under this philosophy, its Apex of the artform was during the Palaeologan period (1259-1453)
" The essence of Spiritualism is that all physical things hinder the Cosmic connection." Another way to look at it is all beauty is from within. so all beauty is the ultimate simplicity, the Eastern Romans perfected the art, Abstraction is beauty and a channel to the soul.
The original teachings of Spiritualism are not Christian, the earliest writings date to Plotinus around 250 AD. The basic philosophies of his teachings have been added to many faiths, Judaism, Christianity, Gnostic and Islam.
For more on Spiritualism on coinage I recommend these works, the second from Christopher T Connell, he diagramed the ultimate portrait of Christ in a Spiritualist nature. He broke the portraits of Christ to 3 circles, 2 semicircles and 30 lines. (He assisted me when I first started collecting Byzantine coinage, I think of him fondly now.)
Vol 03 No. 11 November 1989 - The Celator - VCoins Community
https://social.vcoins.com/files/file/29-vol-03-no-11-november-1989/
https://social.vcoins.com/files/file/55-vol-05-no-12-december-1991/
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Very interesting bimetal color combination. What holds the coin in place? Is it welded? It does not look like it from the photo. Does the other side display the other side of the coin?
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That is a beautiful piece from a purely artistic perspective. Really nice.
Virgil
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lovely way to present the image, stands out nicely with the contrasting background.
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Very interesting bimetal color combination. What holds the coin in place? Is it welded? It does not look like it from the photo. Does the other side display the other side of the coin?
It is a beautiful piece; the coin appears to be kept in a thin silver band but not noticeable on my picture above. Here is a pic of the reverse, as you can see it is open. Also a pic of the piece in hand.
That is a beautiful piece from a purely artistic perspective. Really nice.
Virgil
Thank You Virgil.
lovely way to present the image, stands out nicely with the contrasting background.
I agree Wiley, Thank you.
Simon
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Another look, you can see the band around the coin.