Provenance Information

[Muenzen und Medaillen AG, Basel, FPL 541, March 1991 no. 45], sold; to Jane Ayer Scott, Newton MA (1991-2008), by inheritance; to her husband Wellington F. Scott III, (2008-2010), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2010.

Exhibition Information

No information available

Publication Information

Muenzen und Medaillen AG, FPL 541, no. 45, Basel, March 1991.

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

Byzantine coins were issued in very large numbers and widely circulated beyond the place where they were struck. In the past this common coinage tended to be inadequately illustrated in sales catalogues, making it difficult to trace a particular specimen.

Provenance Information

[Muenzen und Medaillen AG, Basel, FPL, 537, October 1990 no. 30], sold; to Jane Ayer Scott, Newton MA (1990-2008), by inheritance; to her husband Wellington F. Scott III, (2008-2010), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2010.

Exhibition Information

No information available

Publication Information

Muenzen und Medaillen AG, FPL, 537, no. 30, Basel, October 1990.

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

Byzantine coins were issued in very large numbers and widely circulated beyond the place where they were struck. In the past this common coinage tended to be inadequately illustrated in sales catalogues, making it difficult to trace a particular specimen.

Provenance Information

Jane Ayer Scott, Newton MA (by 2008), by inheritance; to her husband Wellington F. Scott III, (2008-2010), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2010.

Exhibition Information

No information available

Publication Information

No information available

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

Byzantine coins were issued in very large numbers and widely circulated beyond the place where they were struck. In the past this common coinage tended to be inadequately illustrated in sales catalogues, making it difficult to trace a particular specimen.

Provenance Information

[Colosseum Coin Exchange, Inc., Hazlet, NJ], sold; to Jane Ayer Scott, Newton MA (by 2008), by inheritance; to her husband Wellington F. Scott III, (2008-2010), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2010.

Exhibition Information

No information available

Publication Information

No information available

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

These common Roman provincial coins were struck in large quantities under the Roman Empire and circulated all over Asia Minor. They tend to be inadequately illustrated in sales catalogues making it difficult to trace a particular specimen.

Provenance Information

Mr. Frank L. Kovacs III, San Mateo, CA (by 1988), gift; to The Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University (1988-2012), transfer; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2012.

Exhibition Information

No information available

Publication Information

No information available

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Gift or bequest expected or on loan prior to 2008

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

This work was donated to Harvard University in 1988. Ownership has been transferred to the Harvard Art Museums for proper care and safety and to increase access by students and the public.

Provenance Information

Jane Ayer Scott, Newton MA (by 2008), by inheritance; to her husband Wellington F. Scott III, (2008-2010), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2010.

Exhibition Information

No information available

Publication Information

No information available

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

Fourth century Persian sigloi have been found in large numbers. They show different styles and different reverses and have been attributed by scholars to a variety of mints. They circulated all over the western part of the Persian Empire and tend to be inadequately illustrated in sales catalogues making it difficult to trace a particular specimen.

Provenance Information

c. 1970s in the collection of Jerry L. Abramson, Dallas, Texas; lent to the Dallas Museum of Art since July 2005; given to DMA by Mr. Abramson's estate (accession date: January 30, 2009).

Exhibition Information

East Meets West, DMA, August 7 to November 27, 2005. DMA from July 2006 through the present.

Publication Information

N/A

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Gift or bequest expected or on loan prior to 2008

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

This work was on long-term loan to the DMA beginning in July 2005, prior to its acquisition in 2009.The work has been publicly exhibited in 2005 and continuously since July 2006. Although the collector from whose estate the DMA acquired this work began collecting in the 1960s or '70s, the DMA has been unable to substantiate the precise date of acquisition because of the death of the former owner. The ancient Mediterranean engraved gemstones and intaglio rings, beads, amulets, and this coin, all given by this donor or his estate, complement the DMA's collection of ancient Etruscan, Greek, and Roman gold jewelry. This work is the only ancient Mediterranean coin in the DMA's collection.

Provenance Information

Purchased by Harlan J. Berk of Chicago, Illinois from Gorny and Mosch, Munich, Germany, Auction 164, March 17, 2008, lot 235; purchased by the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois in 2008.

Exhibition Information

The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, October 3, 2008-present.

Publication Information

The Art Institute of Chicago, Annual Report 2008-2009 (posted on AIC web site), p. 20.

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The cumulative facts and circumstances known to the Art Institute of Chicago at the time of the acquisition allowed it to make an informed judgment to acquire the object. The date and circumstances of this coin’s discovery are not known. Ancient coins circulated widely and have been found within the present-day borders of many countries. Mr. Berk states that in approximately 1996, twelve years prior to his actual acquisition of the coin, a Pennsylvania dealer acting on behalf of an undisclosed collector offered to sell the same coin to him. In addition, this acquisition furthers the representation of the artistic achievements of all civilizations in art museums because it is a very early example of a coin bearing a profile portrait.

Provenance Information

November 20-21, 1981, anonymous sale (Auction 11), Frank Sternberg AG, Zürich, lot 268, sold to Cornelius C. Vermeule, III (b. 1925 – d. 2008), Cambridge, MA [see note 1]; 2008, gift of Vermeule to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 22, 2008)

NOTES: [1] Lent by Cornelius Vermeule to the MFA from 2004 until 2008 (loan no. L-G 115.2.2004).

Exhibition Information

Not known

Publication Information

Not known

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The date and circumstances of the coin’s discovery are not known. The coin’s appearance in a 1981 auction in Switzerland ensures that it has been outside Turkey, its probable country of modern discovery, since before the passage of Law no. 2863 on the Protection of Cultural and National Assets (1983).