Academic literature on the topic 'Birds in numismatics'

The rich collection of the Numismatic Cabinet of the National Museum in Krakow (MNK) includes special sigillographic artefacts, i.e. Drohiczyn-type small lead seals. The collection contains specimens with various iconographic representations, including small seals with images of birds. Similar small seals are known from archaeological excavations conducted in Mazovia. Interestingly, some images impressed on the small seals have analogies with representations on Piast coins from the 12th and 13th century. It is highly likely that the small seals with images of birds are local issues from Mazovia. This is indicated by a characteristic type of bird representations, most probably eagles. This would mean that they were an adaptation of the Ruthenian idea of using small lead seals but with local Piast symbols.

This is a collaborative in-depth study of Trajan's sestertii with a bird's-eye view of the harbour at Portus (RIC 631–2), struck in AD 112–14. It is based on a new numismatic analysis of the coin type, featuring a corpus of 46 specimens and a critical study of their reverse dies, as well as on recent archaeological research at the port that allows for a better understanding of the harbour buildings and their chronology. The article provides the first detailed comparison of the structures shown on the nine reverse dies with those on the ground. The new interdisciplinary assessment of the evidence leads to a new hypothesis regarding the occasion of the coin issue: it probably commemorated the inauguration of the harbour's distinctive hexagonal basin, through which the new port facility became operational.

Scholarship on the ancient Indian Ocean, which stretches deep into the previous century, is available from an array of academic disciplines including but not limited to history, archaeology, epigraphy, numismatics, art history, and materials science. It spans from prehistory to the present era and includes evidence ranging from the Mediterranean to East Asia. What binds together the world of Indian Ocean research is an enduring interest in the complex maritime-based links crosscutting this space and—for archaeologists—the movements of cultural elements (objects, ideas, people, etc.) that have left behind some material trace. Recent field projects and materials science studies have greatly expanded this material database, refining (and sometimes challenging) traditional interpretations about Indian Ocean maritime relations. This review presents a streamlined perspective, focusing on recent archaeological contributions about long-distance interregional connections across the Indian Ocean from 500 bce to 1000 ce. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Anthropology, Volume 52 is October 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Cette étude se propose de dégager les variations du thème des oiseaux de nuit dans la Grèce ancienne, médiévale et moderne et de présenter une explication de ces différences en fonction du contexte historique, socioculturel et religieux. Pour la période ancienne, un inventaire des oiseaux de nuit a été établi et les occurrences concernant ces oiseaux dans la littérature, l’histoire, la mythologie et l’art ont été relevées. L’étude des oiseaux de nuit a été reprise à l’époque médiévale suivant la même approche en nous intéressant à la manière dont les principales caractéristiques des oiseaux de nuit ont été revues à la lumière de la conception judéo-chrétienne du monde, ainsi que dans d’autres textes comme le Physiologos, les nombreux Bestiaires, les Cyranides et le Poulologos.Enfin, pour la période moderne, notre attention s’est portée sur la place qu’occupent les oiseaux de nuit dans les chansons populaires, proverbes, fables, contes, poèmes et la littérature de jeunesse ainsi que dans les représentations qui leur sont associées dans l’art, l’artisanat, les emblèmes, timbres poste et monnaies. Cette étude diachronique vise à recenser les différentes espèces d’oiseaux et à évaluer le rôle qu’elles ont joué dans la pensée grecque au fil des siècles. Elle vise à établir -ou non- la continuité de leur symbolisme en fonction des conditions propres à la période envisagée
This study has distinguished variations in the theme of nocturnal birds in Ancient, Medieval and Modern Greece, as well as presented an explanation within the historical, socio-cultural, and religious contexts. For the Ancient Greek timeframe, in an effort to outline symbolism, an inventory of nocturnal birds mentioned in zoological texts was created whereby the mention of such birds in literature, history, mythology, and art was also accounted for. The same approach was employed for the Medieval Greek timeframe. The study first focused on the revisions made to the main characteristics of these birds within the Judeo-Christian mindset, as opposed to Ancient Greece. These changes were not only adopted, but reinforced by other texts such as the Physiologos and many Bestiaries. The study then focused on the medico-magical traits of these nocturnal birds as outlined in the Cyranides, which contrasts with the Poulologos’ satire of Byzantine society by the intermediary of the birds’ behavior and biting remarks. Lastly, for the Modern Greek timeframe, the study explored the importance of nocturnal birds in folk songs, proverbs, fables, short stories, poems and youth literature. Further, the study outlined the birds’ privileged place in art, artisanal work, signs and emblems, postage stamps, and money. This diachronic study aimed to catalog the different bird species and to evaluate the role that they played in the development of the Greek line of thought through the centuries. It was also the study’s goal to ultimately establish—or not—the continuity of the symbolism as it relates to the time-specific conditions of each era

Pagan Germanic art had favoured the representation of animals and invested it with apotropaic qualities. The new Christian animal iconography (Evangelists’ symbols, doves, peacock, the fauna in the vine-scrolls, etc.) was accepted and integrated into a tradition which saw it not as purely decorative, but as a potent symbolic image. It is not surprising that, just as in contemporary sculpture, manuscripts, metalwork, and embroidery, many of the reverses of the Secondary series show animals, real or fantastic. These representations must be analysed in the context of the culture of the time, and therefore as potential for metaphors. Whilst the gold coinage, following Merovingian numismatic prototypes, had crosses as reverses, the Primary coins of Series B introduced birds to this iconography. Birds will indeed dominate amongst the reverses of the whole of the early Anglo-Saxon coinage, and their importance can be understood in a Christian context. Several groups of coins sharing the iconography of a bust or head with diadem and spiky hair on the obverse, and of a bird surmounting a cross on the reverse, are gathered under the classification of Series B. Some issues have unintelligible legends on both sides, cordoned by a torque of pellets, sometimes snake-headed, and though they differ in details, their iconography is consistent (Fig. 4.1). Rigold regarded the coin iconography of the bird on a cross as original Anglo-Saxon, rejecting any Merovingian numismatic precedent. Conceptually close models may have developed in imitation of Roman and Christian standards or sceptres. Coptic bronze lamps present us with several examples where the reflector above the handle is in the shape of a cross topped with a bird (Fig. 4.1c), and there is also an interesting bronze lamp in the shape of a ram with a cross and bird on its head. Following Early Christian precedents, the bird on the coins can be identified as a dove, in a Christian context a symbol of the Holy Spirit, appropriately set on a cross. In Insular metalwork there are two three-dimensional dove-shaped mounts that may perhaps have similarly topped crosses.