August 31, 2017 – In recent years, Islamic numismatics has known a renewed vitality, due to the publication of corpora, collection catalogues, essays on the chronology of mint-output and mint activity (see the “Survey of Numismatic Research” presented at the occasion of the XV International Numismatic Congress in Taormina, but also the review by Arianna D’Ottone Rambach that has appeared in “Comunicazione”).
However, coin finds and hoards from archaeological contexts are one of the aspects least studied in the field of Islamic numismatics. Whilst it is a well-established trend of research in Ancient and Medieval numismatics, the study and the analysis of the function of Islamic coins in archaeological contexts deserve more attention. Therefore, the theme to which the next edition of the Simone Assemani Symposium will be dedicated is: “Islamic coins in archaeological context: coin finds, coin circulation”. Themes of research linked to this topic include: Islamic coins in archaeological excavations; Coin use and coin circulation; Mint production and coin circulation; Coin hoards; Mints and monetary areas.
As usual, a special panel will be devoted to new researches about Simone Assemani (1752-1821). This panel is entitled “Assemani and his cultural environment: contacts, correspondents and letters”.
Moreover since the interest of letters between numismatists, as a valuable source for the history of the discipline, has been highlighted by the project “Fontes Inediti Numismaticae Antiquae (FINA)” – devoted to Classical numismatics until 1800, there is the need to develop a parallel project: “Fontes Inediti Numismaticae Orientalis (FINO)”. Therefore, a special session of the 5th Simone Assemani Symposium will welcome contributions dedicated to manuscripts (letters and codices), to the reception of printed book, to networks of collectors, to the history of Oriental collections in European coin cabinets, and to the perception of Oriental coins in Europe.
The conference will take place in Rome, at the Museo Nazionale Romano (Friday 29 September 2017) and at Sapienza University (Saturday 30 September 2017).
In addition, on Friday 29 October, there will be the formal presentation, with talks by Annliese Nef and Andrea Saccocci, of Arianna D’Ottone Rambach’s new book on the “Collezione di Vittorio Emanuele III. Monete Arabe”.
If you have any questions, contact Arianna d’Ottone Rambach. You will find her e-mail address at her entry in CoinsWeekly’s Who’s who.