LOT 3082
Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Ptolemy I Soter AR Tetradrachm. As satrap, 323-305 BC. Byblos mint. In the name and types of Alexander III of Macedon.
Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress, paws tied beneath chin / ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus seated to left on backless throne, right leg drawn back, his feet resting on low foot rest, holding long sceptre in his left hand and, in his right, eagle standing to right with closed wings; B in left field, OI beneath throne. Price 3420 (Berytos mint); HGC 10, 1003 (Berytos mint). Near Very Fine.(15.68gr, 27mm, 10h.).
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
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LOT 3082
Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Ptolemy I Soter AR Tetradrachm.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
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Euboia, Chalkis AR Drachm. Circa 338-308 BC.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Head of the nymph Chalkis to left, wearing hair-band, single pendant earring and necklace / Χ-ΑΛ (anti-clockwise), eagle flying to left, grasping serpent with his talons that coils around his body; [to left, flower?]; all within shallow circular incuse. Cf. BCD Euboia 120; cf. Picard, Issue 2; HGC 4, 1461. 3.32gr, 16mm, 12h.
Near Very Fine.
Acquired on the UK art market since the early 2000s. Property of a Lincolnshire gentleman, thence by descent. -
Lucania, Metapontion AE 15mm. Circa 250-207 BC.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
Athena Promachos advancing to left, brandishing spear and shield / Owl standing on grain ear to right, head facing; META upwards to left. Johnston, Bronze 68b; SNG ANS 562-4; HN Italy 1704; HGC 1, 1113. 3.72gr, 15mm, 12h.
Near Very Fine.
From the collection of G.M.R.H., London, UK. -
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.
