Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 98 6-7 Jun 2017
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Ptolemaic Kingdom. Ptolemy III Euergetes. Gold Mnaieion (27.87 g), 246-222 BC. Alexandria, under Ptolemy IV, ca. 219-217 BC. Bust of the deified Ptolemy III right, wearing radiate diadem and aegis; at shoulder, trident with middle prong ending in a lotus finial. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY, radiate and filleted cornucopia; below, ΔI. Svoronos 1117; SNG Copenhagen 196. Incredible quality with satiny surfaces. Magnificent style and elegant. The finest example we have seen!. Mint State. Estimate Value $20,000 - UP
The Ptolemaic gold mnaieion was one of the larger gold denominations struck in antiquity and had the impressive face value of one mina (100 drachms). This particular type was struck By Ptolemy IV Philopator ("Father-loving") to commemorate his deified father, Ptolemy III Euergetes, as part of the gold donative paid to his troops during the Fourth Syrian War (219-217 BC). In this conflict, the young, inexperienced, and dissolute Ptolemy IV faced a potential invasion of Egypt by the Seleukid king Antiochos III. The threat was so great that Ptolemy took the expedient of training native Egyptian warriors (machimoi) to fight in the Macedonian phalanx. While the gold content of the coin was intended to inspire loyalty in the Ptolemaic troops, the image of Ptolemy III was calculated to remind the army of the great victories against the Seleukid foe won by Ptolemy III during the Third Syrian War (246-241 BC). As it turned out, the deified Ptolemy III must have been watching over his irresolute son, for on June 22, 217 BC, Ptolemy IV and his army stood firm against Antiochos III at the battle of Raphia and broke the Seleukid advance towards the gates of Egypt. The wonderful portrait of Ptolemy III is brilliantly executed in an exuberant high Hellenistic style, and gives him the appearance of a universal god whose power can be felt not only on earth but also in the heavens and on the sea. The radiate crown associates him with the Greek sun god Helios, but was no doubt also intended to connect him to prominent native Egyptian solar deities like Ra-Horakhty and Amun (Greek Ammon), divine patrons of Pharaonic kingship. The trident is the attribute of the Greek sea god Poseidon and alludes to Ptolemy III's preeminent naval power in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean in the aftermath of the Third Syrian War, while the lotus flower on its central prong is an attribute of Egyptian Isis, the protectress and divine mother of the king in traditional Egyptian religion. The snaky aegis worn by Ptolemy serves to identify or associate him with several Greek deities. It makes him equivalent to Zeus, the owner of the aegis in Greek mythology, but also links him to Athena, who often appears brandishing the aegis in her aspect as Athena Alkidemos - an old patron deity of the Macedonians. The aegis also identifies Ptolemy III Euergetes as a descendant of the deified Ptolemy I Soter, whose portrait was regularly adorned with the aegis already in his lifetime. Last, but surely not least, the aegis may have been intended to associate Ptolemy III with the deified Alexander the Great. The chlamys-like treatment of Ptolemy's aegis is very different from that of Ptolemy I, which looks more like a scaly neck-scarf, but is reminiscent of the full-body aegis worn by Alexander in a famous lifetime statue type by Lysippos known as the Alexander Aigiochos. The image is so heavy with symbolism and meaning that it proves right the old adage that "a picture is worth a thousand words." Evidently the Ptolemaic administration under Ptolemy IV also thought that this particular picture was worth 100 drachms.
The Ptolemaic gold mnaieion was one of the larger gold denominations struck in antiquity and had the impressive face value of one mina (100 drachms). This particular type was struck By Ptolemy IV Philopator ("Father-loving") to commemorate his deified father, Ptolemy III Euergetes, as part of the gold donative paid to his troops during the Fourth Syrian War (219-217 BC). In this conflict, the young, inexperienced, and dissolute Ptolemy IV faced a potential invasion of Egypt by the Seleukid king Antiochos III. The threat was so great that Ptolemy took the expedient of training native Egyptian warriors (machimoi) to fight in the Macedonian phalanx. While the gold content of the coin was intended to inspire loyalty in the Ptolemaic troops, the image of Ptolemy III was calculated to remind the army of the great victories against the Seleukid foe won by Ptolemy III during the Third Syrian War (246-241 BC). As it turned out, the deified Ptolemy III must have been watching over his irresolute son, for on June 22, 217 BC, Ptolemy IV and his army stood firm against Antiochos III at the battle of Raphia and broke the Seleukid advance towards the gates of Egypt. The wonderful portrait of Ptolemy III is brilliantly executed in an exuberant high Hellenistic style, and gives him the appearance of a universal god whose power can be felt not only on earth but also in the heavens and on the sea. The radiate crown associates him with the Greek sun god Helios, but was no doubt also intended to connect him to prominent native Egyptian solar deities like Ra-Horakhty and Amun (Greek Ammon), divine patrons of Pharaonic kingship. The trident is the attribute of the Greek sea god Poseidon and alludes to Ptolemy III's preeminent naval power in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean in the aftermath of the Third Syrian War, while the lotus flower on its central prong is an attribute of Egyptian Isis, the protectress and divine mother of the king in traditional Egyptian religion. The snaky aegis worn by Ptolemy serves to identify or associate him with several Greek deities. It makes him equivalent to Zeus, the owner of the aegis in Greek mythology, but also links him to Athena, who often appears brandishing the aegis in her aspect as Athena Alkidemos - an old patron deity of the Macedonians. The aegis also identifies Ptolemy III Euergetes as a descendant of the deified Ptolemy I Soter, whose portrait was regularly adorned with the aegis already in his lifetime. Last, but surely not least, the aegis may have been intended to associate Ptolemy III with the deified Alexander the Great. The chlamys-like treatment of Ptolemy's aegis is very different from that of Ptolemy I, which looks more like a scaly neck-scarf, but is reminiscent of the full-body aegis worn by Alexander in a famous lifetime statue type by Lysippos known as the Alexander Aigiochos. The image is so heavy with symbolism and meaning that it proves right the old adage that "a picture is worth a thousand words." Evidently the Ptolemaic administration under Ptolemy IV also thought that this particular picture was worth 100 drachms.