Coin of Michael VII c. 1071 - 1078

Curator: The Coin of Michael VII, held here at the Harvard Art Museums, presents a compelling study in miniature portraiture. The material's worn texture gives it a palpable sense of history. Editor: Yes, and immediately, I see the piercing of this coin as a subversive act. It’s no longer merely currency; it becomes a statement about power, perhaps even resistance. Curator: One could also argue that the piercings, altering its original form, inadvertently accentuate the very composition they disrupt. The images are still legible, even with the holes. Editor: Legible, but forever changed. The coin, once a symbol of imperial might, now bears the marks of appropriation and alteration, possibly reflecting the tumultuous sociopolitical landscape of its time. Curator: Regardless, the surviving impressions of the figures—the emperor himself and religious iconography—continue to offer insight into the artistic conventions and symbolic language of the era. Editor: Indeed, we are left contemplating how meaning shifts when an emblem of authority is physically transformed by those subject to that authority. Curator: A profound point. This coin, small as it is, becomes a palimpsest of power and protest. Editor: Exactly. It asks us to consider not just what it was, but what it has become through the hands of history.