Tweet
ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL ARMENIAN COINS ACQUIRED BY PRINCETON NUMISMATIC COLLECTION
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2010 -03-03-ancient-and-medieval-armenian-coins-acquire d-by-princeton-numismatic-collection
Wednesday March 03, 2010
Princeton, N.J., United States - The Princeton University Numismatic
Collection has acquired the Armenian Heritage Collection of ancient
and medieval coins, adding a new area of specialized strength to the
University's extensive numismatic research holdings.
The Armenian Heritage Collection was assembled over a period of
decades by an expert collector, who sought to represent the various
periods in the pre-modern age when Armenia produced its own coinage
or made substantial contributions to the coinage of other powers,
according to Princeton Curator of Numismatics Alan Stahl.
"The collection includes coins of three distinct periods, all of
interest to the academic concerns of the University," Stahl said.
Stahl said the acquisition will provide scholars with access to
significant materials to study early Armenian civilization, as well
as provide new opportunities at Princeton to research ancient and
medieval societies.
The earliest coins in the collection are those of the Artaxiad dynasty,
which became the largest political power east of Rome in the first
century B.C. The coins of most relevance to Princeton's existing
holdings are those minted in the reign of Tigranes the Great, who ruled
from the Seleucid capital of Antioch-on-the-Orontes from 95 to 55 B.C.
"The coins of Tigranes from Antioch hold special interest for Princeton
because University scholars led the excavations of the site in the 20th
century and the University holds more than 30,000 coins found there in
our collection," Stahl said. "One of the great mysteries of the coins
from these excavations is the lack of any in the name of Tigranes
and the dearth of local municipal coins for the period of his reign."
Included in the collection are two large silver pieces of Tigranes
the Great and 19 bronze coins in his name, as well as examples of
rare coins featuring his successors. All of these coins follow the
models of the Hellenistic world, with the portrait of the ruler on
the front of the coin and a local deity on the back. The writing on
the coins is in Greek.
"The acquisition of this interesting and uncommon collection will
significantly broaden Princeton's resources for the study of both
the history and the imagery of the classical world," said Michael
Koortbojian, Princeton professor of art and archaeology. "Moreover,
this new collection will not only allow students and faculty
direct access to primary historical material, but, in the context of
Princeton's broader numismatic holdings, it will provide an important
body of material for research into the interactions between the various
cultures and societies that comprised the ancient and medieval world."
The second group of coins in the Armenian Heritage Collection comprises
gold solidi of the Byzantine Empire from the sixth through the 11th
century.
"Armenians figured prominently in the government of Byzantium,
including in the ranks of its important emperors. The addition of
these magnificent gold solidi greatly strengthens our holdings of
Byzantine coinage, which has constituted a major focus of acquisition
in recent years," Stahl said.
The third component of the collection comprises coins of the medieval
kingdom of Cilician Armenia, on the south coast of what is now Turkey.
The kingdom, ruled by Roupenid family, had strong ties to its
surrounding powers, Byzantine, Islamic and Crusader. These connections
are illustrated by a large silver coin in the collection, equivalent
to the European groat or the Islamic dirhem. The coin bears on its
front an image of the king on horseback in European style, surrounded
by a legend in Armenian characters, while on the back it bears writing
in Arabic.
"The coins of Cilician Armenia in the new collection complement the
Latin Orient Collection of Crusader Coinage that we acquired two
years ago, giving us a fuller picture of the interplay of coinages
in the medieval eastern Mediterranean," Stahl said.
The Armenian Heritage Collection was acquired by the Princeton
University Numismatic Collection with funds from the Friends of
Princeton University Library and matching funds provided by the
University's Program in Hellenic Studies with the support of the
Stanley J. Seeger Hellenic Fund. The Numismatic Collection is part
of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections in Princeton
University's Firestone Library.
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2010 -03-03-ancient-and-medieval-armenian-coins-acquire d-by-princeton-numismatic-collection
Wednesday March 03, 2010
Princeton, N.J., United States - The Princeton University Numismatic
Collection has acquired the Armenian Heritage Collection of ancient
and medieval coins, adding a new area of specialized strength to the
University's extensive numismatic research holdings.
The Armenian Heritage Collection was assembled over a period of
decades by an expert collector, who sought to represent the various
periods in the pre-modern age when Armenia produced its own coinage
or made substantial contributions to the coinage of other powers,
according to Princeton Curator of Numismatics Alan Stahl.
"The collection includes coins of three distinct periods, all of
interest to the academic concerns of the University," Stahl said.
Stahl said the acquisition will provide scholars with access to
significant materials to study early Armenian civilization, as well
as provide new opportunities at Princeton to research ancient and
medieval societies.
The earliest coins in the collection are those of the Artaxiad dynasty,
which became the largest political power east of Rome in the first
century B.C. The coins of most relevance to Princeton's existing
holdings are those minted in the reign of Tigranes the Great, who ruled
from the Seleucid capital of Antioch-on-the-Orontes from 95 to 55 B.C.
"The coins of Tigranes from Antioch hold special interest for Princeton
because University scholars led the excavations of the site in the 20th
century and the University holds more than 30,000 coins found there in
our collection," Stahl said. "One of the great mysteries of the coins
from these excavations is the lack of any in the name of Tigranes
and the dearth of local municipal coins for the period of his reign."
Included in the collection are two large silver pieces of Tigranes
the Great and 19 bronze coins in his name, as well as examples of
rare coins featuring his successors. All of these coins follow the
models of the Hellenistic world, with the portrait of the ruler on
the front of the coin and a local deity on the back. The writing on
the coins is in Greek.
"The acquisition of this interesting and uncommon collection will
significantly broaden Princeton's resources for the study of both
the history and the imagery of the classical world," said Michael
Koortbojian, Princeton professor of art and archaeology. "Moreover,
this new collection will not only allow students and faculty
direct access to primary historical material, but, in the context of
Princeton's broader numismatic holdings, it will provide an important
body of material for research into the interactions between the various
cultures and societies that comprised the ancient and medieval world."
The second group of coins in the Armenian Heritage Collection comprises
gold solidi of the Byzantine Empire from the sixth through the 11th
century.
"Armenians figured prominently in the government of Byzantium,
including in the ranks of its important emperors. The addition of
these magnificent gold solidi greatly strengthens our holdings of
Byzantine coinage, which has constituted a major focus of acquisition
in recent years," Stahl said.
The third component of the collection comprises coins of the medieval
kingdom of Cilician Armenia, on the south coast of what is now Turkey.
The kingdom, ruled by Roupenid family, had strong ties to its
surrounding powers, Byzantine, Islamic and Crusader. These connections
are illustrated by a large silver coin in the collection, equivalent
to the European groat or the Islamic dirhem. The coin bears on its
front an image of the king on horseback in European style, surrounded
by a legend in Armenian characters, while on the back it bears writing
in Arabic.
"The coins of Cilician Armenia in the new collection complement the
Latin Orient Collection of Crusader Coinage that we acquired two
years ago, giving us a fuller picture of the interplay of coinages
in the medieval eastern Mediterranean," Stahl said.
The Armenian Heritage Collection was acquired by the Princeton
University Numismatic Collection with funds from the Friends of
Princeton University Library and matching funds provided by the
University's Program in Hellenic Studies with the support of the
Stanley J. Seeger Hellenic Fund. The Numismatic Collection is part
of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections in Princeton
University's Firestone Library.