Asante Gold Cowrie Shell, Ghana, Asante Region, Africa, 19th century
Hollow lost wax casting in gold of a bead in the shape of a cowrie shell (sedee). The central dome of the shell and the underside are decorated with transverse lines. The shell has a single circular suspension hole cast at one end.
Cowries throughout Africa are symbols of wealth and well-being and, in some parts of West Africa, were used as a form of currency. In Akan communities cast gold cowrie shells were worn by high-status individuals such as the Asantehene, paramount chiefs, royal wives and children as part of anklets, bracelets, necklaces and sandal ornaments to signify that they had access to great wealth.
Found during the excavations of the Royal Palace at Kumase
British Colonial Issue rupee of George V, King of the United Kingdom, 1918
The British Museum, Coins and Medals, 2006,0914.1
Chinese "fake" banknote, issued for rituals, otherwise called "hell money"
Funerary equipment; made of paper; in the form of bundle of hell money; white paper printed with multicoloured designs: on front image of Chinese man at right, man with stick followed by three children at left, "8000000000" in top left corner, Chinese characters in right corners; on back Chinese characters across top, "8000000000" in bottom left corner, "HELL BANK NOTE" in bottom right corner, image of buildings at centre; wrapped in plastic.
© The Trustees of the British Museum, 278159001
Byzantine Pectoral with Coins and Pseudo-Medallion ca. 539–50
Neck rings, such as this imposing gold example, are cited in early sources as playing a role both in the glorification of military heroes and in coronation ceremonies. This pectoral necklace is composed of a plain, hollow neck ring attached to a frame set with a large central medallion flanked by coins and two small decorative disks. Although it was found in Egypt, the pectoral is believed to have been made in Constantinople, since a personification of that city is depicted on the reverse of the central medallion. The front of the medallion and the smaller coins depict Byzantine emperors. The two ribbed rings at the pectoral's lower edge once held a large medallion of the emperor Theodosius I. This imperial imagery suggests that the pectoral is composed of a collection of military trophies that once belonged to a distinguished general or a member of the imperial court.
Metropolitan Museum, NYC, Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 Accession Number: 17.190.1664
Gold, niello Overall dimensions: 9 7/16 x 8 5/8 x 5/8 in. (23.9 x 21.9 x 1.6 cm) ring: 19 11/16 x 3/8 in. (50 x 1 cm)
Stater of Aegina, Ancient Greece, 400 BCE-333 BCE
Silver Stater of Aegina, Ancient Greece, 400 BCE-333 BCE
Ancient Greek Polis of Aegina, 400 BCE-333 BCE
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Frederick M. Watkins
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Frederick M. Watkins, 1972.177
Manuscript folio, 1341, created in Isfahan, Iran
Folio from a manuscript of Mu'nis al-ahrar fi daqa 'iq al-ash'ar (The Free Men's Companion to the Subtleties of Poems) by Muhammad ibn Badr al-Din Jajarmi: Treasurer, money changer, courier and jeweler; tent, pavilion, drum, and banner; lion, onager, wolf, sheep, partridge and hawk
Harvard Art Museums, Asian and Mediterranean Art
Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Gold solidus of Emperor Justinian I, Byzantine (r. c. 527 - 565 CE), pierced
Gold solidus of Emperor Justinian I, Byzantine (r. c. 527 - 565 CE), mint of Constantinople, pierced
Byzantine Empire, mint of Constantinople
Harvard Art Museums, Trustees for Harvard University
Dwight C. Sturges, American (Charlestown, Mass. 1874 - 1940 Boston, Mass.), Money Lender
Dwight C. Sturges, American (Charlestown, Mass. 1874 - 1940 Boston, Mass.)
Harvard Art Museums, Modern and Contemporary Art
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Mrs. William Simes, 1938
Silver Tetradrachm of Ptolemy I Soter, minted in Egypt (r. 323-285 BCE)
Silver Tetradrachm of Ptolemy I Soter, minted in Egypt (r. 323-285 BCE) Obv.: Head of Alexander in lion skin and aegis r., with horns of Zeus Ammon; dotted border. Rev.: Athena Alkidemos, r., holding spear and shield; to r., an eagle clutching thunderbolt r.; border of dots; to l., W in circle; to r., Delta Iota
Gold Stater of Philip II of Macedon, mint of Pella, 4th century BCE
Gold Stater of Philip II of Macedon, mint of Pella, 336 BCE-328 BCE
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Loan from the Trustees of the Arthur Stone Dewing Greek Numismatic Foundation