Artemide Aste s.r.l.
Auction LIII 2-3 May 2020
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Greek Asia. Phoenicia. Iron Age hacksilver. A fragment of a small circular cake-shaped silver ingot, 12th-6th century BC. Thompson, Christine M., "Sealed Silver in Iron Age Cisjordan and the 'Invention' of Coinage ". Oxford Journal of Archaeology, February 2003, pp. 67–107. AR. g. 23.26 c. 22 x 21 x 11 mm. A fascinating item, of highest historical interest. Lightly toned.
THE KING SOLOMON SILVER
The Cisjordan corpus of Phoenician Iron Age hacksilver, dated between 1200 and 586 BC, is the largest concentration of silver hoards that has been discovered in the Near East. These 34 hoards occur in a region that has no native source of silver meaning that it was likely all imported from other locations. This corpus is thought to be evidence of the Phoenician trade with the Biblical Western Mediterranean Island of Tarshish which supplied King Solomon with silver. The lead isotope ratios in the ores match those native to Sardinia and Spain. This has caused scholars to consider Sardinia as a possible match for the legendary Tarshish. This collection of silver is thought to demonstrate the conceptual basis of monetary coinage. C.M. Thompson (ibidem) considered unweighted hacksilver as "currency, " weighted pieces or bundles of hacksilver as "money, " and standard weighted bundles of hacksilver, sealed with bullae as "coins ". The silver was packaged in pre-weighed bundles, chopped from pre-portioned ingots, and sealed to denote confirmation of quality and quantity. There is no evidence that ingots were pre-weighed. If this is true, then numismatic activity was established in the ancient Near East long before Greek and Lydian adaptation in 6th century. This has led scholars to believe that the Greek preference for silver may be partly linked to this ancient Mediterranean trade. Objects that are considered hacksilver may take many forms and uses including ornamentation (jewelry or decoration) or raw material (to make into other things, like jewelry). Shapes and forms that hacksilver commonly takes are: Chocolate Bar Ingots; Jewelry and Fragments; Coiled Rings.
(Freely adapted from Wikipedia: Cisjordan Corpus). Provenance:
Privately purchased from Mr. Mishrail.
THE KING SOLOMON SILVER
The Cisjordan corpus of Phoenician Iron Age hacksilver, dated between 1200 and 586 BC, is the largest concentration of silver hoards that has been discovered in the Near East. These 34 hoards occur in a region that has no native source of silver meaning that it was likely all imported from other locations. This corpus is thought to be evidence of the Phoenician trade with the Biblical Western Mediterranean Island of Tarshish which supplied King Solomon with silver. The lead isotope ratios in the ores match those native to Sardinia and Spain. This has caused scholars to consider Sardinia as a possible match for the legendary Tarshish. This collection of silver is thought to demonstrate the conceptual basis of monetary coinage. C.M. Thompson (ibidem) considered unweighted hacksilver as "currency, " weighted pieces or bundles of hacksilver as "money, " and standard weighted bundles of hacksilver, sealed with bullae as "coins ". The silver was packaged in pre-weighed bundles, chopped from pre-portioned ingots, and sealed to denote confirmation of quality and quantity. There is no evidence that ingots were pre-weighed. If this is true, then numismatic activity was established in the ancient Near East long before Greek and Lydian adaptation in 6th century. This has led scholars to believe that the Greek preference for silver may be partly linked to this ancient Mediterranean trade. Objects that are considered hacksilver may take many forms and uses including ornamentation (jewelry or decoration) or raw material (to make into other things, like jewelry). Shapes and forms that hacksilver commonly takes are: Chocolate Bar Ingots; Jewelry and Fragments; Coiled Rings.
(Freely adapted from Wikipedia: Cisjordan Corpus). Provenance:
Privately purchased from Mr. Mishrail.