Bicorporates on Coins. Reflections on their Occurrence and Use
This paper focuses on coins with bicorporates – composite animals with one head and two bodies – a fascinating but rather neglected category of numismatic objects. The first known bicorporates appeared on Mesopotamian cylinder seals around the third millennium BC. They subsequently a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Danish |
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Lund University
2022-06-01
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| Series: | ICO Iconographisk Post |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.lub.lu.se/ico/article/view/25690/22590 |
| _version_ | 1797326529008500736 |
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| author | Etsuko Zakoji |
| author_facet | Etsuko Zakoji |
| author_sort | Etsuko Zakoji |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper focuses on coins with bicorporates – composite animals with one head and two bodies – a fascinating but rather neglected category of numismatic objects. The first known bicorporates appeared on Mesopotamian cylinder seals around the third millennium BC. They subsequently appeared in Aegean, Greek, Etruscan and Roman art as well as that of pre-Islamic Syria and Iran. In medieval Europe, they flourished in Romanesque churches in Southern Europe and Scandinavia, in particular Denmark. Furthermore, they also emerged in India, China and Southeast Asia. Bicorporates exist across a remarkably wide geographical and chronological range. However, art historians and archaeologists alike mostly disregard them. Only a few scholars have carried out serious research into bicorporates and then focussed almost exclusively on their presence in Romanesque sculpture. Nevertheless, they are almost ubiquitous in Eurasian visual culture. Bicorporates are also found on coins, even though these are extremely rare. This paper will explore how, when and where bicorporates emerged on coins, and – since this question is raised whenever bicorporates are the issue – discuss whether bicorporates really depict two bodies or one. Finally, the meaning and significance of bicorporates will be discussed in the context of different scholarly interpretations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:25:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a6bf0c601ed64560b2a1a087e262a6cc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2323-5586 |
| language | Danish |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:25:34Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Lund University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | ICO Iconographisk Post |
| spelling | doaj.art-a6bf0c601ed64560b2a1a087e262a6cc2024-02-03T14:58:25ZdanLund UniversityICO Iconographisk Post2323-55862022-06-011–2, 202293123Bicorporates on Coins. Reflections on their Occurrence and UseEtsuko Zakoji0Birkbeck College, University of LondonThis paper focuses on coins with bicorporates – composite animals with one head and two bodies – a fascinating but rather neglected category of numismatic objects. The first known bicorporates appeared on Mesopotamian cylinder seals around the third millennium BC. They subsequently appeared in Aegean, Greek, Etruscan and Roman art as well as that of pre-Islamic Syria and Iran. In medieval Europe, they flourished in Romanesque churches in Southern Europe and Scandinavia, in particular Denmark. Furthermore, they also emerged in India, China and Southeast Asia. Bicorporates exist across a remarkably wide geographical and chronological range. However, art historians and archaeologists alike mostly disregard them. Only a few scholars have carried out serious research into bicorporates and then focussed almost exclusively on their presence in Romanesque sculpture. Nevertheless, they are almost ubiquitous in Eurasian visual culture. Bicorporates are also found on coins, even though these are extremely rare. This paper will explore how, when and where bicorporates emerged on coins, and – since this question is raised whenever bicorporates are the issue – discuss whether bicorporates really depict two bodies or one. Finally, the meaning and significance of bicorporates will be discussed in the context of different scholarly interpretations.https://journals.lub.lu.se/ico/article/view/25690/22590bicorporatecomposite creaturedouble bodied animaldouble bodied sphinxtherianthropehybridapotropaic symbolancient coinunusual coinrare coinvilhelm slomann |
| spellingShingle | Etsuko Zakoji Bicorporates on Coins. Reflections on their Occurrence and Use ICO Iconographisk Post bicorporate composite creature double bodied animal double bodied sphinx therianthrope hybrid apotropaic symbol ancient coin unusual coin rare coin vilhelm slomann |
| title | Bicorporates on Coins. Reflections on their Occurrence and Use |
| title_full | Bicorporates on Coins. Reflections on their Occurrence and Use |
| title_fullStr | Bicorporates on Coins. Reflections on their Occurrence and Use |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bicorporates on Coins. Reflections on their Occurrence and Use |
| title_short | Bicorporates on Coins. Reflections on their Occurrence and Use |
| title_sort | bicorporates on coins reflections on their occurrence and use |
| topic | bicorporate composite creature double bodied animal double bodied sphinx therianthrope hybrid apotropaic symbol ancient coin unusual coin rare coin vilhelm slomann |
| url | https://journals.lub.lu.se/ico/article/view/25690/22590 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT etsukozakoji bicorporatesoncoinsreflectionsontheiroccurrenceanduse |