Anonymous Follis c. 1050 - 1060

Editor: Here we have an anonymous Follis from the Harvard Art Museums. Given its age, the coin's material presence is compelling. What do you see in this piece regarding production or cultural significance? Curator: This coin speaks volumes about Byzantine labor practices and the state's control over production. The very act of minting—the labor, the metal sourcing—reveals an economic structure. How might the images stamped on it reinforce social hierarchies or religious ideologies through mass production and circulation? Editor: That's fascinating. Considering it as a product of its time, makes it more than just a coin. Curator: Exactly! We shift our focus to the coin as a commodity, as a symbol and instrument of economic and social control. Hopefully, this perspective will encourage us to explore further the tangible evidence of labor and consumption in art.