Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XVII 28 Mar 2019
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Mysia, Kyzikos EL Stater. Circa 550-450 BC. Archaic female 'Aethiopian' head right, wearing kekryphalos headdress, and large circular earring; tunny fish behind / Quadripartite incuse square. Cf. Hurter-Liewald 2002, 19a (hekte); cf. Roma XIV 222 (hekte); von Fritze -; Boston MFA -; BMC -; SNG France -. 16.01g, 21mm.
Very Fine. Unique, unpublished, and of considerable numismatic importance.
From the collection of an antiquarian, Bavaria c. 1960s-1990s.
We know that the Greeks were well acquainted with black Africans, since they appear often in Greek literature as mythical or semi-mythical characters and warriors; it appears that they were known in the Greek world as early as the Minoan period, where they were employed by Minoan commanders as auxiliary troops. Indeed, if we may believe Quintus of Smyrna, the Greeks encountered black Africans in the army of Memnon at Troy. Black African contingents also formed a part of Xerxes' army and according to some scholars fought at Marathon (see Frazer, J. G., 1913: Pausanias' Description of Greece, II. Macmillan, London, pg. 434; and Graindor, P., 1908: Les Vases au Nègre. Musée Belge, pg. 29).
Of the surviving art objects representing black Africans, many appear to be the work of artists who modelled from life. These depictions invariably display an astonishing degree of individuality, vitality, and energy, presenting scenes and designs that appealed to the craftsmen; one might surmise that the exotic appearance of such individuals presented the artist with a challenge to represent the distinctive features of black peoples. The closest parallels we find in the numismatic record for this portrait can be seen in a very rare hekte issue from Phokaia (Bodenstedt 24), the silver staters of an uncertain (possibly Karian) mint that have appeared in 2008 (Gemini IV, 195) and 2009 (NAC 52, 177) that bear an incuse head of a negroid man, and a small issue of silver fractions on Lesbos that also show a male head, this time in relief.
Very Fine. Unique, unpublished, and of considerable numismatic importance.
From the collection of an antiquarian, Bavaria c. 1960s-1990s.
We know that the Greeks were well acquainted with black Africans, since they appear often in Greek literature as mythical or semi-mythical characters and warriors; it appears that they were known in the Greek world as early as the Minoan period, where they were employed by Minoan commanders as auxiliary troops. Indeed, if we may believe Quintus of Smyrna, the Greeks encountered black Africans in the army of Memnon at Troy. Black African contingents also formed a part of Xerxes' army and according to some scholars fought at Marathon (see Frazer, J. G., 1913: Pausanias' Description of Greece, II. Macmillan, London, pg. 434; and Graindor, P., 1908: Les Vases au Nègre. Musée Belge, pg. 29).
Of the surviving art objects representing black Africans, many appear to be the work of artists who modelled from life. These depictions invariably display an astonishing degree of individuality, vitality, and energy, presenting scenes and designs that appealed to the craftsmen; one might surmise that the exotic appearance of such individuals presented the artist with a challenge to represent the distinctive features of black peoples. The closest parallels we find in the numismatic record for this portrait can be seen in a very rare hekte issue from Phokaia (Bodenstedt 24), the silver staters of an uncertain (possibly Karian) mint that have appeared in 2008 (Gemini IV, 195) and 2009 (NAC 52, 177) that bear an incuse head of a negroid man, and a small issue of silver fractions on Lesbos that also show a male head, this time in relief.