Art Institute of Chicago

Sestertius (Coin) Portraying Emperor Domitian

Roman

Date

88

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Roman Empire

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This coin commemorates Emperor Domitian's celebration of the Ludi Saeculares (Secular Games) in Rome in 88 CE. The front (obverse) of the coin portrays the head of the emperor Domitian, facing right. On the back, Domitian is shown seated on a low platform inscribed SVF P D, reaching out to a standing citizen, who extends his hand; a child stands between them with hands raised and a tetrastyle temple is shown in the background. The scene depicts the distribution of suffimenta (materials for the ritual purification of private homes) at a tetrastyle temple.

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