Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 96 14-15 February 2017
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Macedonia, Orthagoreia. Silver Stater (10.32 g), ca. 350-330 BC. Draped bust of Artemis right, wearing triple-pendant earring and necklace, quiver at shoulder. Reverse: OPΘAΓO-PEΩN, Chalkidian helmet facing; above, star; below, monogram. SNG ANS 562; AMNG III/2 2. Rare. Uniform antique grey tone. Choice Very Fine. Estimate Value $700 - 800
The Hanbery Collection; Purchased from A.H. Baldwin & Sons.
This issue of Orthagoreia is remarkable for its attractive depiction of Artemis wearing the distinctive "melon" hairstyle that became fashionable for mortal (and some deified) women in the late fourth and third centuries BC. The hairstyle is so called by modern scholars because the braids tightly pulled back give the impression of the striated rind of a watermelon. The reverse type is a little more enigmatic in its depiction of a facing Macedonian helmet surmounted by a star. To date no convincing explanation of the star crest has been offered. Does it indicate an association with the Dioscuri, whose piloi (not helmets) were regularly depicted with a star above? Or could it be an allusion to the Argead dynasty of Macedonia, which claimed that Perdikkas I, its dynastic founder, once received a bizarre payment of golden sunlight before setting out to claim his kingdom? The question remains an open one.
The Hanbery Collection; Purchased from A.H. Baldwin & Sons.
This issue of Orthagoreia is remarkable for its attractive depiction of Artemis wearing the distinctive "melon" hairstyle that became fashionable for mortal (and some deified) women in the late fourth and third centuries BC. The hairstyle is so called by modern scholars because the braids tightly pulled back give the impression of the striated rind of a watermelon. The reverse type is a little more enigmatic in its depiction of a facing Macedonian helmet surmounted by a star. To date no convincing explanation of the star crest has been offered. Does it indicate an association with the Dioscuri, whose piloi (not helmets) were regularly depicted with a star above? Or could it be an allusion to the Argead dynasty of Macedonia, which claimed that Perdikkas I, its dynastic founder, once received a bizarre payment of golden sunlight before setting out to claim his kingdom? The question remains an open one.