PRÉVOST DE LONGPÉRIER (Adrien) - Lot 218

PRÉVOST DE LONGPÉRIER (Adrien) Paris, 1816 - 1882. French archaeologist, orientalist and numismatist. Curator at the Musée du Louvre and later at the Cabinet des Médailles, he was one of France's leading specialists in oriental and medieval numismatics. His work contributed to the renewal of studies on Arab and Hispano-Muslim coins. Important L.A.S. "Adrien de Longpérier" to an erudite collaborator. S.l., December 16, 1838, 3 pp. 1/4 in-12. Very interesting scientific letter devoted to an Arabic coin from Spain and "marabotins alfonsins", Spanish Christian coins imitated from Muslim dinars. Longpérier thanks his correspondent for an article on "la monnaie d'Auxerre" (the Auxerre coinage) and develops a long and particularly erudite numismatic and historical analysis. In particular, he refers to Barthélemy's work on the coins of the bishops of Auxerre, then describes in detail a coin minted by Alfonso VIII of Castile on the model of the Almoravid dinars: "This is a coin minted by Don Alfonso with the type and weight of the coins of the Almoravid emirs". The letter contains a remarkable study of Arab and Christian coin legends, with Longpérier noting how Castilian rulers substituted Christian formulas for the Muslim professions of faith on Arab coins in Spain. He notes: "The legends of the Christian coin follow step by step those of the Muslim dinars". The scholar also analyzes the presence of crosses and the letters "ALF" designed to distinguish Christian issues from the original Arab coins, underlining the profound influence of Islamic monetary culture in medieval Spain. A fascinating document that bears witness to the beginnings of French studies of oriental numismatics in the 19th century, and to scholarly research into cultural exchanges between the Christian and Muslim worlds in medieval Iberia. Beautiful, long autograph letter, rich in historical, linguistic and numismatic considerations.