Solidus (Coin) of Basil I with Christ Enthroned

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

868–870

Byzantine, minted in Constantinople

The imagery of Byzantine coins, as well as their use—or not—of religious imagery, reflects the different attitudes toward representation of divine figures as a result of the Iconoclastic (from the Greek eikon, or image, and klao, to break) Controversy, a fierce debate among Byzantine theologians over the appropriate role of images in religious worship that raged in Byzantium for over 100 years from about 730 to 843.

In a radical departure from the numismatic imagery of iconoclast emperors, the coin of Basil I (r. 976–1025) has an image of Christ Enthroned on its front, along with an inscription proclaiming the heavenly ruler “King of Kings.”

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

Culture: Byzantine
Title: Solidus (Coin) of Basil I with Christ Enthroned
Place: Byzantine Empire (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.: Struck 868 CE–870 CE
Medium: Gold
Inscriptions: Obverse: bASILIOSETCONSTANTI AUGGb Reverse: +IhSXPSSREX REgNANTIuM+
Dimensions: Diam.: 2 cm (13/16 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Emily Crane Chadbourne
Reference Number: 1940.23
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/36654/manifest.json

Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 29.
Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), pp. 104-106 (cat. 26).

Emily Crane Chadbourne (1871- 1964), Paris, London, and Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1940.

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Solidus (Coin) of Basil I with Christ Enthroned

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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.

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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.