Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Caracalla (216, issued by Caracalla): Artwork and History

Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Caracalla (216, issued by Caracalla) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Roman; minted in Rome.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

During the period of the five “Good Emperors,” succession was not hereditary. It was instead based on merit, with the current ruler formally adopting his successor. This pattern ended with Marcus Aurelius’s son, Commodus (reigned 177–92), who inherited the crown. He promptly abused his power and died a tyrant’s death. The Severan dynasty followed with the rise to power of Septimius Severus. His two sons, Caracalla and Geta, were proclaimed co-emperors upon his death. Within a year the conflict between the brothers resulted in Caracalla (reigned 211–17) killing Geta in order to rule alone. The front (obverse) of this coin portrays a bust of Emperor Caracalla facing right, laureate, and wearing a cuirass and paludamentum (breastplate and military cloak). The back (reverse) depicts Serapis standing to the left, wearing a polos on his head, while raising his right hand and holding a scepter.

Object facts

• Title: Aureus (Coin) Portraying Emperor Caracalla
• Date: 216, issued by Caracalla
• Artist attribution: Roman; minted in Rome
• Place of origin: Rome
• Medium: Gold
• Dimensions: Diam.: 2 cm (13/16 in.)
• Type: Coin
• Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
• Reference number: 1922.4885

Collection credit

Gift of Martin A. Ryerson

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The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.