Public image: Portraits on coins and medals
22 January – 18 July 2004
Exhibition closed
This exhibition looks at the story of the familiar feature of
many of the coins we use today: the side bearing the head of the
head of state (in the UK this is HM Queen Elizabeth II). Before the
widespread use of photography and the printed image, coins and
medals could transmit an image of a ruler far more widely than any
other medium - and were therefore an important and convenient way
to consolidate power and assert influence. As artefacts, they
remain a fascinating record of images of people who lived in times
long past.
The first portrait coins appeared just before 400 BC in Asia
Minor and the display follows the use of personal images on coins
up to the time of Napoleon. The latter provides an opportunity
through the survival of his death mask to compare his actual face
to the official images.
In ancient times using the head of a ruler on coins was a way
for local issuers to gain credibility by association and in the
same way many people wishing to consolidate their position have
copied recognised and accepted styles. We can see on some of the
earliest Greek portrait coins the development of a feature we still
use today, labelling the head with the ruler's name (and sometimes
titles), written around the edge of the coin.
The use of coin portraits soon spread to ancient Iran in the 2nd
century BC and then on to Roman coins. The influence of Roman style
coin portraits can clearly be seen in many Renaissance medals as
well as painted and engraved portraits, for example a print of
about 1500 of the school of Leonardo da Vinci, on show in the
exhibition.
We can also see coins that have allowed rulers to manipulate
their image and present themselves as anything from warrior to
god-like, but perhaps coins which show the ageing of the person
depicted are a clue to how concerned some rulers were to presenting
a life-like public image.
Image: Gold aurei of
Nero, Roman, mid-1st century AD