Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XV 5 Apr 2018
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Domitia (wife of Domitian) AR Denarius. Rome, AD 81-84. DOMITIA AVGVSTA IMP DOMIT, draped bust right, hair falling in long plait behind neck / CONCORDIA AVGVST, peacock standing to right on ground line. RIC 151 (Domitian); C. 2; BMCRE 61 (Domitian); BN 65. 3.57g, 19mm, 5h.
About Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
Ex Barry Feirstein Collection, Numismatica Ars Classica 39, 16 May 2007, lot 115;
Ex James Fox Collection, Classical Numismatic Group 40, 4 December 1996, lot 1465;
Ex Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection, Sotheby's, 21 June 1990, lot 713;
Ex Leu 28, 5 May 1981, lot 422.
Together with Jupiter and Minerva, the goddess Juno was worshipped in Rome as part of the Capitoline Triad of supreme deities. Goddess of marriage and childbirth, she was the protector and special counsellor of the state, and took a further role safeguarding the women of Rome. It is therefore fitting that this bird above all should feature on the reverse of this rare and attractive denarius, for the peacock was an attribute of Juno and the goddess was often depicted with a peacock at her feet, signifying her watchful and warlike countenance.
That the peacock was specifically linked to Juno is affirmed in myth by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, Book 1, where he relates the story of Jupiter, his lover Io, and his jilted wife Juno. Ovid tells us that after Jupiter was caught with his lover, she was turned into a pure white heifer by his enraged wife and set under the guard of Argus, the hundred-eyed watchman. Sent by Jupiter to free Io, Mercury distracted Argus by playing the pan-pipes and telling stories, eventually slaying the giant and freeing Io. To honour her faithful watchman, Ovid tells us that Juno transferred Argus' eyes to the tail feathers of the peacock so as to preserve them forever.
Further meaning can be found in the use of the peacock for this reverse type however, that also arises from the beliefs of the ancient Greeks, for the bird was seen as a symbol of immortality and is therefore an appropriate motif to highlight the desired concord and harmony that the legend references, between not only the emperor and empress but across the empire.
About Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
Ex Barry Feirstein Collection, Numismatica Ars Classica 39, 16 May 2007, lot 115;
Ex James Fox Collection, Classical Numismatic Group 40, 4 December 1996, lot 1465;
Ex Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection, Sotheby's, 21 June 1990, lot 713;
Ex Leu 28, 5 May 1981, lot 422.
Together with Jupiter and Minerva, the goddess Juno was worshipped in Rome as part of the Capitoline Triad of supreme deities. Goddess of marriage and childbirth, she was the protector and special counsellor of the state, and took a further role safeguarding the women of Rome. It is therefore fitting that this bird above all should feature on the reverse of this rare and attractive denarius, for the peacock was an attribute of Juno and the goddess was often depicted with a peacock at her feet, signifying her watchful and warlike countenance.
That the peacock was specifically linked to Juno is affirmed in myth by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, Book 1, where he relates the story of Jupiter, his lover Io, and his jilted wife Juno. Ovid tells us that after Jupiter was caught with his lover, she was turned into a pure white heifer by his enraged wife and set under the guard of Argus, the hundred-eyed watchman. Sent by Jupiter to free Io, Mercury distracted Argus by playing the pan-pipes and telling stories, eventually slaying the giant and freeing Io. To honour her faithful watchman, Ovid tells us that Juno transferred Argus' eyes to the tail feathers of the peacock so as to preserve them forever.
Further meaning can be found in the use of the peacock for this reverse type however, that also arises from the beliefs of the ancient Greeks, for the bird was seen as a symbol of immortality and is therefore an appropriate motif to highlight the desired concord and harmony that the legend references, between not only the emperor and empress but across the empire.