Sestertius of Nero, showing the Temple of Janus Quirinus

64–68

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

This Roman coin depicts the Temple of Janus Quirinus, a building destroyed long before the Renaissance. A representation of the coin appears in a late sixteenth-century book of commentary, illustrating a specific passage in Suetonius’s biography of Augustus. In those lines, Suetonius recounts how Augustus closed the temple’s door—a gesture symbolizing the achievement of peace. This action is illustrated in the third scene on the Augustus dish, where the emperor closes the door to a temple clearly modeled after the image on the coin.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Exhibition History

Title: Sestertius of Nero, showing the Temple of Janus Quirinus
Date: 64–68
Culture: Roman
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: 25.56 g
34.5 mm
Classification: Coins
Credit Line: American Numismatic Society, New York
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts