Byzantine Bronze of Alexandria Is. Constantine II, Constantius II, Constans

September 337-March 340

9/16 in. (diameter) x 1/16 in. (1.5 cm x 0.1 cm)

This object has the following keywords:

• Animalia - Kingdom containing multicellular organisms having cells bound by a plasma membrane and organized into tissue and specialized tissue systems that permit them to either move about in search of food or to draw food toward themselves. Unable to make their own food within themselves, as photosynthetic plants do, they rely on consuming preformed food. They possess a nervous system with sensory and motor nerves, enabling them to receive environmental stimuli and to respond with specialized movements.
• bronze - Refers to a broad range of alloys of copper, specifically any non-ferrous alloy of copper, tin, and zinc or other trace metals. Bronze was made before 3,000 BCE -- possibly as early as 10,000 BCE, although its common use in tools and decorative items is dated only in later artifacts. The proportions of copper and tin vary widely, from 70 to 95 percent copper in surviving ancient artifacts. Because of the copper base, bronze may be very malleable and easy to work. By the Middle Ages in Europe, it was recognized that using the metals in certain proportions could yield specific properties. Some modern bronzes contain no tin at all, substituting other metals such as aluminum, manganese, and even zinc. Historically, the term was used interchangeably with "latten." U.S. standard bronze is composed of 90% copper, 7% tin and 3% zinc. Ancient bronze alloys sometimes contained up to 14% tin.
• Byzantine - Culture, style, and period of the Christian states of the eastern Mediterranean during the rule of the Byzantine Empire (330 - 1453 CE). Byzantine art and culture was carried throughout much of the Christian world, and lasted into the 16th century in eastern Europe. The style is characterized by imperial and religious subject matter, and a movement away from the original Greek naturalistic forms to favor ritualistic stylization, intended to suggest the spiritual. For the culture and style of the Italian and western Mediterranean Christian world roughly from the third to the mid-ninth century CE, use "Early Christian."
• children - People in the earliest developmental stage of life.
• coins - Pieces of metal stamped by government authority for use as money.
• Egyptian - Refers to the styles and culture that developed in antiquity in the Nile Valley in the area of modern-day Egypt and southwards. For the cultures and styles of the modern nation of Egypt, use "Egypt (modern)."
• Heroes and Myth
• infants - Children in the earliest stage of their lives, before being able to walk.
• wolves - General term applied to members of various large, wild species of Canis, particularly those of North America and Eurasia that hunt in packs.