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Denarius (Coin) Portraying Mark Antony and Queen Cleopatra VII

A work made of silver.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of silver.

Date:

37-33 BCE, issued by Mark Antony

Artist:

Roman

About this artwork

The front (obverse) of this coin portrays the head of Mark Antony, facing to the right. On the back (reverse), a bust of Cleopatra is portrayed, facing to the right.

Through Cleopatra, Egypt became involved in the chaotic political struggles of the Roman civil war, in which Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Octavian sought to control Egypt’s wealth of grain and gold. Eventually this led to the end of Egypt’s existence as a sovereign nation as well as the destruction of the Ptolemaic dynasty. This coin was struckafter Antony and Cleopatra had married and joined forces to fight Octavian. A year later, in 31 BCE. Octavian would defeat the pair at the Battle of Actium, and the ruling dynasty begun by Ptolemy would end with Cleopatra’s death in 30 BCE.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Roman

Title

Denarius (Coin) Portraying Mark Antony and Queen Cleopatra VII

Place

Ancient Greece (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.

37 BCE–33 BCE

Medium

Silver

Inscriptions

Obverse: ANTONI ARMENIA DEVICTA "Antony, with Armenia being conquered" Reverse: CLEOPATRAE (REGINAE REG)VM FILIORVM REGVM "For Cleopatra, Queen of kings and of her sons, being kings"

Dimensions

Diam.: 1.9 cm (3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Martin A. Ryerson

Reference Number

1922.4855

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.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/5597/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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