Follis of Herakleios, Constantinople 625 - 626

Editor: This is the Follis of Herakleios, Constantinople, likely crafted during the Umayyad Caliphate by Abd-al-Malik. Its worn texture and the faint figures create a sense of mystery. What do you see in its formal qualities? Curator: Consider the deliberate crudeness. Note how the figures, seemingly imperial, are flattened, almost abstracted, against the coin's surface. This manipulation of form speaks to a renegotiation of power through visual language. Editor: So, the style itself becomes a statement? Curator: Precisely. The medium, a coin, inherently carries symbolic weight, but the treatment of the imagery transforms it. Editor: That's a fascinating take! I hadn't considered the style as part of the message. Curator: By observing the formal choices, we can decode intended meanings, even when historical context is uncertain.