Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XIII 23 March 2017
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Sicily, Selinos AR Tetradrachm. Circa 455-415 BC. Artemis driving slow quadriga right, holding reins in both hands, Apollo standing on her right, discharging an arrow; barley grain in exergue / River-god Selinos standing left, sacrificing with phiale over flaming altar, holding laurel branch in left hand, cock before altar, bull behind to left, standing on pedestal decorated with laurel garland, surmounted by selinon leaf; ΣΕΛΙΝΟΝΤΙΟΝ around. W. Schwabacher, Die Tetradrachmenprägung von Selinunt, MBNG 43, 1925, 18 (Q8/S23); SNG ANS 698; Rizzo 3, pl. XXXIII. 16.88g, 27mm, 6h.
Extremely Fine. Beautiful old tone with gold highlights around the devices.
From the Ambrose Collection;
Ex Gorny & Mosch 199, 10 October 2011, lot 81;
Ex UBS 67, 5 September 2006, lot 5438.
Selinos was one of the first Sicilian cities to issue coins, commencing c. 540-530, striking staters probably initially on the Corinthian standard, but later on the Attic. The early staters, which depicted a large selinon (celery) leaf as the obverse type, were eventually superseded by Syracusan-inspired chariot designs such as the present type, which retain the early emblem of the city on the reverse as an adjunct symbol. Two other subordinate elements of the design are present which have attracted considerable attention - the cockerel before an altar, and the bull set upon a platform. Since the bull and its platform vary considerably in form and style from one die to the next, a local statue is ruled out as a possibility. A. H. Lloyd (N.C. 1935) considered these two symbols to represent the long-standing friendship of Selinos with Himera, since the cockerel was the principal type of Himera (see lot 163), and he identified the bull as the infamous brazen bull of the tyrant Phalaris of Akragas, in which he is said to have roasted his enemies alive, on the basis that Himera was one of the important acquisitions of Phalaris in his quest to become master of Sicily.
Both symbols are rendered in exquisite detail, the miniature bull easily the equal of any Thourians. The principal element of the reverse however is a real tour de force. The figure is the river-god Selinos, portrayed as an idealised nude youth holding a phiale and carefully detailed laurel branch, set with a wreath of laurels about his brow. The level of anatomical detail lavished on this depiction of the river-god is nothing less than sublime; from the toned calves and well-built thighs and torso, to the rippled skin above the knee and the hollow in front of the elbow, no effort has been spared on the part of the engraver. We should not be in any doubt that the individual responsible for this masterpiece was certainly in the first rank of die engravers active in mid-late fifth century Sicily.
Extremely Fine. Beautiful old tone with gold highlights around the devices.
From the Ambrose Collection;
Ex Gorny & Mosch 199, 10 October 2011, lot 81;
Ex UBS 67, 5 September 2006, lot 5438.
Selinos was one of the first Sicilian cities to issue coins, commencing c. 540-530, striking staters probably initially on the Corinthian standard, but later on the Attic. The early staters, which depicted a large selinon (celery) leaf as the obverse type, were eventually superseded by Syracusan-inspired chariot designs such as the present type, which retain the early emblem of the city on the reverse as an adjunct symbol. Two other subordinate elements of the design are present which have attracted considerable attention - the cockerel before an altar, and the bull set upon a platform. Since the bull and its platform vary considerably in form and style from one die to the next, a local statue is ruled out as a possibility. A. H. Lloyd (N.C. 1935) considered these two symbols to represent the long-standing friendship of Selinos with Himera, since the cockerel was the principal type of Himera (see lot 163), and he identified the bull as the infamous brazen bull of the tyrant Phalaris of Akragas, in which he is said to have roasted his enemies alive, on the basis that Himera was one of the important acquisitions of Phalaris in his quest to become master of Sicily.
Both symbols are rendered in exquisite detail, the miniature bull easily the equal of any Thourians. The principal element of the reverse however is a real tour de force. The figure is the river-god Selinos, portrayed as an idealised nude youth holding a phiale and carefully detailed laurel branch, set with a wreath of laurels about his brow. The level of anatomical detail lavished on this depiction of the river-god is nothing less than sublime; from the toned calves and well-built thighs and torso, to the rippled skin above the knee and the hollow in front of the elbow, no effort has been spared on the part of the engraver. We should not be in any doubt that the individual responsible for this masterpiece was certainly in the first rank of die engravers active in mid-late fifth century Sicily.