Preface

The idea for this catalogue and for the exhibition it accompanied followed closely and naturally upon Ottilia Buerger's decision to make Lawrence University the permanent home of her collection of ancient and Byzantine coins, for it became immediately apparent that the exceptional breadth and quality of the collection would permit us to explore not only the historical and aesthetic importance of coins themselves, but also their political, religious, economic, and artistic contexts. The central theme of the exhibition and its catalogue is that the coins were circulated not only as means of exchange, but also as significant bearers of meaning. Although they superficially resemble our own coins in their depictions of heads of state, monuments, and symbols (indeed, much modern coinage has been influenced by the traditions established in these coins), they functioned very differently in their respective societies. Since their intrinsic value and artistic merit made them highly regarded objects in themselves, and since their wide circulation guaranteed a large audience for their images, they were the most important popular medium through which a government could communicate images characterizing the state, or, when the state was embodied in an individual, its ruler. Together, the exhibition and the catalogue are designed to show modern viewers how to "read" the coins and how to see them as tiny windows through which we may glimpse many facets of the cultures that produced them.

The exhibition and catalogue have been collaborative ventures in every sense, and I would like to
take this opportunity to thank the people who made them possible. Over the course of the last three years, a dedicated group of students have brought to the study of the coins the perspectives of their respective fields of art history, classics, history, anthropology, music, and even biology. The catalogue entries they wrote are signed with their initials, but I would like to acknowledge them as co-authors and to thank them here: Shannon Gaylord Bakich (biology, '92), Robin Emmanuel Bandy (anthropology and history, '93), Kristin J. Brainard (art history, '94), Rebecca K. Browning (art history and philosophy, '93), Jonathan D. Greene (art history, '93), Benjamin Hayes (classics and English, '93), Eric N. Jurgens (anthropology '93), Rebecca H. Luhmann (art history, '93), Peter A. Martens (music education and classics, '95), Kathleen L. Metzger (classics, '94), Malcolm Pettingell (classics, '93), Kirsten L. Ratwik (history, '93), Timothy S. Riley (art history, '92), and Kelly Swett (art history and anthropology, '93). Lawrence faculty have also taken an active interest in the collection. Michael T. Orr, associate professor of art history, Daniel J. Taylor, Hiram A. Jones Professor of Classics, and Jere M. Wickens, adjunct assistant professor of anthropology, contributed essays for the catalogue; I am very grateful to have had the benefit of their historical, art historical, linguistic, and archaeological expertise. Todd McGrain, assistant professor of art, contributed his drawing and metal-working skills for the illustration of coin-striking. I would also like to thank Sylvia Hurter of Bank Leu Numismatik, Thomas R. Martin of the College of the Holy Cross, and William E. Metcalf of the American Numismatic Society for their numismatic advice and assistance.

The staff of the Wriston Art Center Galleries designed and installed the exhibition and assisted in countless ways in the preparation of the catalogue. Special thanks are due Timothy Rodgers, curator of the Galleries, Edward A. Holgate, former gallery coordinator, Pamela K. O'Donnell, gallery assistant, Carol J. Fausak, secretary of the Art Department, and Jami Severson (art history, '95). They had technical assistance from David L. Peltier, LeRoy Frahm, and Wayne Krueger. Peter J. Gilbert, reference librarian, cheerfully aided us in our searches for often obscure numismatic literature. The catalogue was designed by Kristine Parins, who also tirelessly shepherded the manuscript through to publication; she was assisted by Gregg Schneider. The coins were photographed by Bradford Rochford, '92, and Image Studios, Appleton, Wisconsin. We are grateful to John Kokoszka and Betley Armored Courier Inc. of Green Bay, Wisconsin for services they donated. Our security consultant was Gordon C. Schultz of Schultz Associates, Appleton.

From the beginning we have had the enthusiastic encouragement and support of the administration of Lawrence University. I am particularly indebted to President Richard Warch and to Gregory A. Volk, vice president for development and external affairs, Stephen A. Hirby, director of development, and Donald B. Stewart, director of public affairs. For generous funding of the research and the catalogue we gratefully acknowledge Ottilia Buerger, the Westvaco Corporation, and the Faculty Research Fund of Lawrence University. Additional funding for the exhibition and its opening came from the University's Marguerite Schumann Memorial Lectureship.

Finally, it is my great pleasure to thank Ottilia Buerger for sharing with us her knowledge of the coins and for providing all of us the opportunity to learn from them. In entrusting the collection to Lawrence, Miss Buerger intended that the coins would contribute significantly to the education of our students and to the cultural enrichment of the commmunity. With this catalogue and exhibition we hope that we have begun to realize her goals.

Carol L. Lawton
Art Department
Lawrence University

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