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Belt Section with Medallions of Constantius II and Faustina
Byzantinelate 4th century (Late Antique)
The Walters Art Museum
Baltimore, United States
Imperial medallions, such as this one of Constantius II (reigned 350-361), were often mounted by their recipients to boast of their highly favored status in society. This stunning example, minted in Nicomedia (Asia Minor), represents on the reverse the triumphant emperor in his chariot. Smaller coins were also mounted as jewelry, like the smaller aureus honoring Galeria Faustina (died 140/141), wife of Antoninus Pius. Other mounted coins, separated by lengths of chain, would have completed this section of either a belt or a necklace.
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Details
- Title: Belt Section with Medallions of Constantius II and Faustina
- Creator Nationality: Byzantine
- Date Created: late 4th century (Late Antique)
- Physical Dimensions: h15.2 x d0.8 cm
- Type: belts; jewelry; medallions; coins
- Rights: Acquired by Henry Walters, 1931, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
- External Link: The Walters Art Museum
- Medium: openwork gold with semiprecious stones
- Provenance: Henry Walters, Baltimore [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
- Place of Origin: Nicomedia (in present-day Turkey)
- Inscriptions: [Transcription] Inscribed on small medallion of Faustina I, obverse of coin: DIVA FAVSTINA; [Translation] The Deified Faustina; [Transcription] Inscribed on reverse of coin: AVGVSTA; [Translation] Augusta (empress); [Transcription] Inscribed on large medallion of Constantius II, obverse of coin: D(ominus) N(oster) CONSTANTIVS MAX(imus) AVGVSTVS; [Translation] Our Lord Constantius Great, emperor; [Transcription] Inscribed on large medallion of Constantius II, reverse of coin: D(ominus) N(oster) CONSTANTIVS P(ius) F(elix) AVGVSTVS; [Translation] Our dutiful and blessed lord Constantius, emperor
- ExhibitionHistory: Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. 1947; Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1979-1980; Late Antiquity and Early Christianity. Staedtische Galerie Liebieghaus, Frankfurt am Main. 1983-1984; Coins and Costume in Late Antiquity. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington. 1993-1994; Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2006-2009; Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry. El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso. 2010
- Artist: Byzantine
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