Gemini, LLC
Auction X 13 January 2013
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Seleucid Kingdom. Antiochus IV. 175-164 BC. Tetradrachm, 16.62g. (12h). Antioch, 168 BC. Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right. Fillet border. Rx: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΝΙΚHΦΟΡΟΥ Zeus seated on throne left, holding scepter in left hand, and in right hand Nike crowning the epithet "Manifest God". SC 1399. Le Rider, Antioche, p. 203, nos. 253-272, pl. 23, 14. Newell SMA 63. Houghton Coll. I 107. EF.
Another fine example of the festival series issued for Antiochus' return from the second Egyptian campaign in 168 BC. The Zeus head that has temporarily replaced the ruler's portrait on the obverse has often been interpreted as a secret portrait, i.e the king in the guise of the god. However, this is not the way the ancients created portraits. The Zeus head has clearly idealized features: besides the calm expression, there is the modest (non-human) depression at the root of the nose, which is a mark of divinity in sculptures in the round too. So the portrait does not depict the king, but is nevertheless one of the last great works of art of Greek classicism.
Another fine example of the festival series issued for Antiochus' return from the second Egyptian campaign in 168 BC. The Zeus head that has temporarily replaced the ruler's portrait on the obverse has often been interpreted as a secret portrait, i.e the king in the guise of the god. However, this is not the way the ancients created portraits. The Zeus head has clearly idealized features: besides the calm expression, there is the modest (non-human) depression at the root of the nose, which is a mark of divinity in sculptures in the round too. So the portrait does not depict the king, but is nevertheless one of the last great works of art of Greek classicism.