Coin of Manuel I c. 12th century

Editor: This is a coin of Manuel I, quite small at 4.56 grams, residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. The imagery looks flattened, almost squeezed onto the metal. What do you see in its composition? Curator: The stark relief and the distortions are quite compelling formally. Note how the artist utilizes incuse lines to delineate form, flattening the figures but creating a powerful iconic presence. The lack of background detail focuses our attention on the figures themselves. Editor: So it's less about realism and more about the impact of the figures? Curator: Precisely. The coin is not merely a representation, but a symbolic object, its value derived from both its material and the message encoded in its design. The deliberate flattening enhances its symbolic weight. Editor: That's fascinating. I'll definitely look at coins differently now. Curator: Indeed, formalism lets us see beyond the surface to the underlying structure of meaning.