Sonia sent the following letter of to the Trustees by way of a report on her stay in London:

Sonia holds the British Museum’s electrotype of a medallion attributed to Constantine I during her visit to the Money and Medallions Study Room. She began studying this object six years ago. Her in-person investigation raised questions she did not consider through online observation.

Dear Trustees of the Robert Anderson Research Charitable Trust,

Thank you for your generous support of the postgraduate study program, which allowed me to conduct one month of dissertation research in London. My dissertation, “Iconography of Transition: The Chi-rho during the Late Antique Period,” contextualizes the well recognized chi-rho symbol between the third to sixth centuries CE.

While in London, I conducted research at the British Museum with two departments, 1) Money and Medallions and 2) the Britain, Europe, and Prehistory Collection. I also had an appointment with the Victoria and Albert Museum to view late Roman objects including two rings. While in England, I visited also Oxford to analyze unique coins at the Ashmolean Museum with the Heberden Coin Room. I investigated small objects not on display and/or photographed on museum websites. In-person research was essential due to the lack of public information. Additionally, I focused predominantly on coins, which mostly measure below 2 centimeters, making details difficult to see while encouraging questions about their reception to the contemporary viewer.

My visits to the British museums were greatly beneficial to my studies. During each visit, I had discussions with curators about their expertise with Roman objects and had the opportunity to ask their thoughts about my dissertation’s arguments. With the information that I gained, I will complete my second chapter this summer and now have an argument for my third chapter–which has shifted, yet, improved compared to my original plan. During my stay in London, my studies were complemented with research at the Warburg Institute, a library with a large art historical collection and holds the British and Royal Numismatic Societies’ book collection.

None of my success in England would be possible without your support and I thank you for it. I would like to specifically recognize Howard Davies for being an excellent host. Upon my arrival, Howard and I traveled to the Warburg and British Library and registered for my library cards. He also greatly assisted me with my appointment at the Ashmolean Museum. Without his support and persistence, this visit would not be possible.

Again, I thank you all for your support and appreciate the opportunity to be selected by the Anderson Trust.

With gratitude,

Sonia Dixon

For more information about the other students in the 2024 cohort please see here.