When letters ruled the ancient world
The artist leaves their mark
Monograms go to work in the machine age
The modern repeating canvas
louisvuitton Arrange letters into repeating patterns to discover how monograms became a language of design.
louisvuitton Medieval Stonemason Marks
Sign your stone, sign your stone, Get paid for what you've done!
louisvuitton Starting around the fifth century BCE, Syracuse and Corinth stamped overlapping letters to guarantee coin weight and metal quality.
Which ancient civilization first used monograms stamped onto silver coins to guarantee value?
What was the main reason Greek city-states engraved monograms on their ancient coins?
Masons' marks: Some medieval cathedrals contain over 1,000 individual stonemason marks, revealing how many different hands helped build a single church.
louisvuitton The symmetric cross monogram turned a royal signature into a masterpiece of medieval design.
Which medieval ruler signed official documents with a cross-shaped monogram because he struggled to write?
What is the name of the central stroke that Charlemagne added to complete his royal monogram?
A design consisting of combined or overlapping letters, typically representing a person's initials or a name. In the fifth century BCE, Greek cities began stamping these symbols on coins to prove authenticity.
Which Roman emperor famously placed the Chi-Rho monogram on his military banners in 312 CE?
What is the term for the stonemason's workbench, which gave its name to their identity marks?
Why did medieval stonemasons carve personal geometric monograms into cathedral stones?