For ancient historians and archaeologists, sharing research is often hindered by the high cost of image rights, which can reach thousands of pounds per publication. To navigate this challenge for the volume Leadership and Initiative in Late Republican and Early Imperial Rome, Dr. Christopher Burden-Strevens commissioned Monsoon to create a series of custom coin illustrations. These illustrations allowed the authors to present critical evidence for a poorly understood era: the political activities of young Roman men prior to their formal careers details frequently omitted by surviving literary sources.

 

'Since working with the coin images is often difficult and expensive, my illustrations created with photographic accuracy were essential to making this critical research possible and it's an area of history I want to explore more, collaborating history and art.' - Mellissa Monsoon