Coin Depicting an Anonymous King

Description The Aksumite Kingdom began to issue coins about AD 270. Silver and bronze coins were issued for local, everyday use, and generally followed the design of Roman coins with a bust portrait of the ruler in profile on one side. Aksumite coins were the first in the ancient world to carry the cross as a symbol of the ruler's devotion to the Christian religion.

Exhibitions

• Ethiopian Art at The Walters. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1996.
• Angels of Light: Ethiopian Art from the Walters Art Museum. Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham; Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton; Museum of Biblical Art, New York. 2006-2007.

Provenance William Wright Gallery, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Knopfelmacher Collection, New York, [date of acquisition unknown] by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1996, by gift.

Credit Gift of Joseph and Margaret Knopfelmacher, 1996