Coin

Art Historical Context

This exquisite silver coin, struck in A.H. 375 (985–86 CE), hails from the Islamic world during a vibrant era of cultural and intellectual flourishing. As a numismatic artifact in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Islamic Art Department—acquired through the Rogers Fund in 1939—it exemplifies the precision craftsmanship of medieval Islamic minting. Likely a dirham, the standard silver currency, it bears inscriptions rather than figural imagery, adhering to aniconic traditions that emphasized calligraphy as the highest art form. In the 10th century, such coins served not only as money but as his...