LOT 3057
Sasanian Kingdom. Bahram II, with Queen and Prince 4 AR Drachm. AD 276-293.
Jugate busts of Bahram II, wearing winged crown with korymbos, and his queen, wearing kolah with boar's head, to right, vis-a-vis cuirassed bust of Prince 4, wearing kolah with eagle's head and presenting a wreath to the royal couple, to left / Fire altar with ribbon; flanked by Bahram on the left and his queen on the right, holding ring; to left of flames, fravahr symbol. Cf. SNS type VII/5; cf. Göbl type X/3. Near Very Fine. Edge chipped.(3.02gr, 27mm, 2h.).
ProvenanceAcquired on the UK market circa 2015.
Property of a London, UK, gentleman.
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LOT 3057
Sasanian Kingdom. Bahram II, with Queen and Prince 4 AR Drachm.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
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Seleukid Empire, Seleukos II Kallinikos AE Trichalkon. Struck circa 246-242 BC. Sardes mint.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Helmeted head of Athena to right / BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY, Apollo Delphios, nude, standing to left, testing arrow in his right hand, and leaning on bow to right. SC 659.1; SNG Spaer 452; Newell 1654; HGC 9, 321. 7.63gr, 20mm, 12h.
Very Fine.
Acquired on the European coin market. Property of a Kent, UK, gentleman. -
Phoenicia. Byblos AR 1/16 Shekel. 4th century BC.
Estimate: £30 - 40 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £15
Galley to left, containing two hoplites with helmets and round shields; hippocamp to left below / Lion attacking bull to left. Cf. HGC 10, 139. 0.80gr, 10mm, 1h.
Good Fine.
Private collection, acquired 1980–1985. -
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.
