MONOGRAM, a cipher or character formed by an interlacing of letters, intended as an abbreviation of a name. Monograms are of very ancient (late. They are not uncommon upon Greek coins, especially those of Macedonia and Sicily. They likewise occur upon the coins of the Selencidss, and are found upon many of the family coins of Rome, though not upon those of the Roman emperors till a late period.
The monogram of Jesus Christ upon the coins of Constantine the Great, is well known. It was continued frequently by his sue masons, even as low down as Alexander Coinnenas and Theodorns Wear's. and was also placed at one period upon the Roman labarum.
Montfancou, in his ' Palleographia Grteca; p. 144, less given a small plate of monograms used on coins, and, in ancient manuscripts, to re present the names of Greek cities. Such will also be found in Schlager, • Comment de Numo Alex. M ,' tab. 3; and in Fr5lich, Anual. Reg. Syr.; tab. 29. Dr. Charles Combe, in the ' Museum Ilunterianum; Ito, Loud., 1782, plates 63 and 64, has given no lea than four hundred and twenty monograms which occur upon the coins of Greek states and cities : others will be found in tabb. xiv., xv. of the ' l'eterum l'opu !arum et Rein= Numi qui in Museo Britannico asservantur; 4to., London, 1S14: and see the works on numismatics genemlly.
The conjunction of two, three, or four letters together is not uncommon in Greek and Roman inscriptions. Many of those of the Roman time will be found in Oerrard's ' SigilLarium Itornanurn,' 4to., Lend., 1792. Mencstrier has preserved those of many of the popes. Ducange, in his' Glossary,' has given tables of those of the popes, em perors, and the kings of France. Monograms appear upon almost all the coins of the kings of France of the second race, that is, from a.n. 751
to 987. (Le Blanc, ' Trait45 Ilistorique des Monnoyes de France,' pp. 87444.) Eginhard gives as a reason for Charlemagne's using a mono gram upon his coins, that he could not write ; and Le Blanc adds that a great many bishops did the same for the same reason, which is absurd, as at that period it was the fashion of Europe generally. They appear upon our own Saxon coins, and especially upon those of Alfred.
Monograms were almost universally used by the early engravers. Bartsch, In his' l'eintre Uraveur; has given tables of the monograms used by those of Germany and Italy. Tho French artists more rarely used monograms. Paesavant, in his • Peinture Graveur: gives the mono grams omitted by Bartsch. Bryant, in his ' Dictionary of Painters and Engravers,' has several plates of monogram,' ; and indeed, most recent writers on engraving have supplied their readers with the mono grams of the engravers whose works they notice. The most extensive information however on this class of monograms will be found in the best edition of Brothers ' Dialonnaire des 31onegmininee, Marquee figurees, Lettrea hairdos, Noma abregtis, Sc. avec lesinels lee Peintres, Dessinateurs, Orsveurs, et Sculpteurs out desigitd. lours NOMA.' 2 tom. 4th., Munich, 1332. M. Alphonse Wyatt has in a series of papers (with facsimiles) in vols. 1. and ii. of the' Gazette des Beaux-Arts' 1859), opened ups previoualy untouched branch of the subject— the monograms affixed by celebrated amateurs to drawings and engravings which have formed part of their collections, and in the course of hie investigations he has collected a great deal of curious information.