Money has often been a matter of life and death, since time immemorial. Coins are struck in tribute to great emperors, monarchs and leaders, and their beloved children – recently deceased or even long dead – and have honoured illustrious relatives and ancestors through the portraits they can carry. They have been used in many of the rituals and routines that mark the passage from life to afterlife – and often portray on their surfaces the trappings and ceremonies of death. This compelling new exhibition features highlights from the Barber superlative coin collection, which includes world-class caches of Byzantine, Trapezuntine and Sasanian currency, as well as significant holdings of Roman and medieval coins.
The exhibition is accompanied by a gallery booklet, which invites you to consider some of the themes around death – such as grief, memorial, afterlives and final acts of caring for the dead – within the wider Barber collection. The booklet also includes thoughts and words from professionals working around death and bereavement in the present time, helping to contextualise the exhibition in the light of dealing with death in the 2020s. You can download and read – or print out – the booklet via the FIND OUT MORE box on this page.
This will be supplemented by three in-gallery talks throughout the year.
Enjoy a taster of what the exhibition looks like in our gallery below (images © Patrick Dandy)
