Dear Shawn and Board,
I am not sure if we know what exactly was sent.
I believe that most of the sources that speak about this use the term "imago" or "imagine", from which we get the word image, and that this word could mean a plastic (3D) image like a bust or a 2D image like a painting or sketch. I don't know if any refer specifically to a bust or sculpture.
During the 3rd and 4th centuries the successor was often not known before the death or assassination so there could be no image prepared beforehand in such cases.
The speed of distribution would certainly be easier with a rolled up parchment than a bust but who knows.
SC
By and large, I think we are in agreement, because even if there is an ancient text (probably should look in my volumes of
Testimonia Numaria for one!) mentioning the details of such a process, that
still would be no guarantee that the described process was followed for every emperor (and much less usurper). I can't see how everything would have stayed the same when the coins themselves changed so much over the centuries. That is why, when I mentioned about busts having been made
before an emperor's elevation (and not necessarily in every case), I was specifically referring to "the early years," within the
Pax Romana, although I think the time period can be extended into
the Severan Period as well. It is a fact that many die cutters throughout the
Roman empire already
had reference material on hand for such emperors as
Nero,
Marcus Aurelius,
Commodus, and
Caracalla, because coins
had already been minted for them while they were of
Caesar status. For these rulers, there would have been significantly less need to send anything. Many mints were also prepared for the possibility of other
men becoming emperor, such as
Germanicus,
Aelius, etc. It is, admittedly, more debatable if the artwork in question consisted of busts, paintings, sketches, or a combination of different media.
Roman provincial coinage is filled with amazing references to famous ancient
statues, so we know that die cutters did consult 3-dimensional art, indirectly if not directly. I will stop there.
As for not knowing who would be emperor next during most of the 3rd and 4th centuries, that is why, again, I think the process of transferring the imperial image
had changed (from whatever it
had started out as). It needed to adapt, just as with nearly every other aspect of coin production, from the organization of the mints to a coin's
fabric and designs. If we are to maintain that at least some of the die cutters faithfully reproduced what they were copying, then the idea that they were being guided in the beginning by something like an imperial
bust starts to crumble a
bit, because where was the urgency to rush over an abstract (and sometimes ugly)
sculpture that looked so much like the emperor's predecessor? And if most of the die cutters were inept or more of a utilitarian streak, than why bother go to the effort to produce something as grand as a
sculpture for them only to struggle with or halfheartedly copy? A drawing would be easier in many respects, including from an engraver's perspective. The story would likely be different for an imperial die cutter of the 1st century who wanted to strive for a degree of personality and realism and
had more time to do so.
Granted, the above minting situation was probably far more complex than the simplistic picture I am painting. Take the
Colossus of
Constantine for example.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_of_ConstantineIt is hard to deny its very strong resemblance to certain coins of the same emperor. A couple of examples:
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=2122902https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1890-0804-11However, these coins were produced well within
Constantine's rule. Let us not forget that some of Constanine's earliest coins (as a tetrarch
Caesar) looked like this:
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=5430148Hmmm. Well, anyway, that is enough for now! Or almost... A thought just occurred to me: what if some of the coins themselves served as models for others? They certainly would be more convenient than just about anything else to transport on short notice, not to mention resilient!
Best regards,
Mark Fox
Michigan