AE Kos, Lucius Verus 

Editor: We’re looking at ‘AE Kos, Lucius Verus,’ a coin held at the Harvard Art Museums. One side shows a profile and the other, two figures. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The formal elements are quite intriguing. Notice the bas-relief, a technique emphasizing flattened forms and subtle gradations within a limited depth. The coin's circular format and the incised lines, structuring the composition, invite analysis. How do these forms engage with the viewer? Editor: It does seem like such a small object holds so much detail. Curator: Precisely. Consider the materiality: the patinated bronze and its weathered texture. The object’s surface becomes a site of historical inscription, inviting us to reflect on the interplay between form, material, and time. Editor: I never thought about a coin in terms of its formal qualities. Curator: This approach allows us to decode the coin as a structured field of meaning, rather than merely a historical artifact.