Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying Emperor Hadrian

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

131

Roman, minted in Alexandria, Egypt

The Good Emperors dedicated themselves to the well-being of the people, but as the back of their coins indicate, each ruler had his own understanding of what made good government.
Although in his Satires Juvenal chided those in power for duping the populace with “bread and circuses,” feeding the people concerned all the emperors. Since Italy could no longer feed itself, rulers depended on the grain-growing provinces of Egypt and Africa to supply its food. On this coin, a figure representing the city of Alexandria presents Egypt’s crops to Emperor Hadrian.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Artist: Ancient Roman
Title: Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying Emperor Hadrian
Place: Alexandria (Minted in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 131 CE
Medium: Billon
Dimensions: Diam.: 2.5 cm (1 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Robert L. Grover
Reference Number: 1980.824
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/139869/manifest.json

Art Institute of Chicago, Annual Report: 1980-1981 (Art Institute of Chicago, 1981), p. 49.

Art Institute of Chicago, Coin Production in the Ancient Mediterranean World, Gallery 155, 1994-1997.
Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 155, April 20, 1994-February 6, 2012.
Art Institute of Chicago, When the Greeks Ruled: Egypt After Alexander the Great, October 31, 2013-July 27, 2014.

Robert L. Grover (1910-1998), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1980.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.