Details
LOT 2871
Gaul, Massalia AR Obol. Circa 440-410 BC.
Male head right, wearing helmet decorated with four-spoked wheel / Wheel. Maurel 271-288; Depeyrot 2. Very Fine.(0.83gr, 9mm.).
Provenance
From the private collection of John Meredith, acquired since the 1990s; thence by descent.
VETTING:
TimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
RELATED LOTS
-
Islands off Cilicia, Elaioussa Sebaste AE 20mm. Circa 1st century BC.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
Laureate head of Zeus to right; monogram of EΡ behind / Nike advancing to left, holding wreath; EΛAIOYΣIΩN downwards on left, monograms of ΔΙOΚ and ΑΡΧ in left field. SNG BN 1133-51 var. (control marks); SNG Levante 826 var. (monograms switched). 5.94gr, 20mm, 12h.
Very Fine.
Acquired on the UK art market since the early 2000s. Property of a Lincolnshire gentleman, thence by descent. -
Phrygia, Apameia AE 23mm. Circa 88-40 BC. ΑΝΤΙΦΩΝ ΜΕΝΕΚΛΕΟΥΣ (Antiphon, son of Menekles), magistrate.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet / AΠAME[ΩN], eagle, with star above, alighting on base of maeander pattern flanked by caps of the Dioscuri; ΑΝΤΙΦΩΝ ΜΕΝΕΚΛΕ[ΟΥΣ] below. SNG Copenhagen 164; HGC 7, 670. 10.10gr, 23mm, 1h.
Very Fine.
Acquired on the UK art market since the early 2000s. Property of a Lincolnshire gentleman, thence by descent. -
Thessaly, Pharsalos AR Drachm. Late 5th-mid 4th century BC. Signed by the engraver ΤΗΛΕΦΑΝΤΟΣ (Telephantos) and ΙΠ- (Ip-).
Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,600
Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Attic helmet with raised cheek pieces; behind neck, ΤΗ above ΙΠ (engravers' initials) in small lettering / Φ-Α-Ρ-Σ clockwise around Thessalian cavalryman riding horse prancing to right, wearing petasos, chlamys and chiton, and holding lagobolon over his right shoulder; in exergue, Τ (engraver's initial). Lavva 86 (O43/R51); BCD Thessaly I 1284 var. (TH in exergue); BCD Thessaly II 639 var. (no ΙΠ); HGC 4, 624. 5.95gr, 18mm, 9h.
Good Extremely Fine. Tiny cut on reverse. Attractive toning with golden iridescence around the devices. Sharply struck and surprisingly detailed.
From a Swiss collection, acquired prior to 2005. Ex Nomos AG, Auction 21, 21 November 2020, lot 145 (company's ticket included).
If the harmony and the aristocratic inner peace of the portraits are the first thing that catches our attention, it is the extremely detailed rendering of the figures, especially on the reverse, that makes the viewer cling more to their admiration for this coin. Each depiction of Athena’s head in these emissions of Pharsalos makes us believe that she has her own character and that no two are the same, even though they share the same characteristics. Athena in our coin looks like a tender girl with a serious but innocent look in her eyes. Her divine power, despite her young age, is not violent; it is simply inherent in the serenity of her gaze. On the other hand, the detailed rendering of the cavalryman’s and horse's face, the texture of his chlamys, the harmonious matching of muscles and joints in the horse's body, and even the pronounced veins in the horse's belly convince us of a talented engraver and a gifted artist.
