Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 120 6-7 Oct 2020
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A Very Important Series of Coins of Syracuse mostly from a Distinguished European Collector
Tetradrachm, unsigned but attributed to Eukleidas circa 413-399, AR 17.33 g. Fast quadriga driven l. by charioteer, holding kentron and reins; in field above, Nike flying r. to crown the driver. In exergue, ear of barley l. Rev. ΣYR – A – KOΣ – [IΩ] – N Head of the nymph Arethusa r., wearing double-hook earring and necklace with six pearl-shaped pendants; hair bound by ampyx in front and sphendone ornamented with stars. Around, two pairs of dolphins swimming downwards. Rizzo pl. XLVII, 10 (these dies). SNG Lloyd 1386 (these dies). Jameson 839 (these dies). Boston, MFA 414 (these dies). Gulbenkian 285 (these dies). Tudeer 63. Coins, Artists and Tyrants 63.
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. A magnificent portrait of superb
Classical style struck on very fresh metal with a delicate light iridescent tone.
A minor area of weakness on reverse and the usual die break on the cheek
at a very early stage, otherwise about extremely fine
Ex Gorny & Mosch 232, 2015, 70 and Künker 273, 2016, 164 sales.
This tetradrachm is a tour de force from the greatest age of creativity at the Syracuse mint. Though the portrait on the reverse is a sublime masterpiece, it is the obverse that demands our attention, for it is perhaps the most daring and inventive of all chariot scenes produced at Syracuse. Only about a decade before these dies were cut, the chariot scene on Syracusan tetradrachms had evolved from a somber, canonical depiction inspired by an Attic vase painting into an explosive scene in which the horses were shown in high action. With this innovation it was shown at a slight angle so the artist could dwell on the physiognomies of the horses and could show the chariot with a new perspective. The style of the chariot scene in the century prior to these innovations was formulaic: though the position of the Nike varied, the chariot was shown in profile, with only the slight overlapping of the horses and the separation of their heads to indicate that more than one was present. Very few dies from that initial century diverged even slightly from the standard formula (see Boehringer dies V45, V107, V286, V291, V326), with the work of a single artist in about 440 B.C. (Boehringer dies V295 and V296) being noteworthy, if not especially accomplished. Once we enter this dynamic period of about 415 to 385 B.C. some extraordinarily talented artists energized Syracusan coins with a level of innovation that had never before been seen. Not surprisingly, several of these artists signed their dies and produced works that were influential far beyond the shores of Sicily. Leading the way was Euainetos, who seems to have been the first to express complete freedom in the way he depicted the chariot at an angle, as if it was turning the bend (Tudeer die 10).
Tetradrachm, unsigned but attributed to Eukleidas circa 413-399, AR 17.33 g. Fast quadriga driven l. by charioteer, holding kentron and reins; in field above, Nike flying r. to crown the driver. In exergue, ear of barley l. Rev. ΣYR – A – KOΣ – [IΩ] – N Head of the nymph Arethusa r., wearing double-hook earring and necklace with six pearl-shaped pendants; hair bound by ampyx in front and sphendone ornamented with stars. Around, two pairs of dolphins swimming downwards. Rizzo pl. XLVII, 10 (these dies). SNG Lloyd 1386 (these dies). Jameson 839 (these dies). Boston, MFA 414 (these dies). Gulbenkian 285 (these dies). Tudeer 63. Coins, Artists and Tyrants 63.
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. A magnificent portrait of superb
Classical style struck on very fresh metal with a delicate light iridescent tone.
A minor area of weakness on reverse and the usual die break on the cheek
at a very early stage, otherwise about extremely fine
Ex Gorny & Mosch 232, 2015, 70 and Künker 273, 2016, 164 sales.
This tetradrachm is a tour de force from the greatest age of creativity at the Syracuse mint. Though the portrait on the reverse is a sublime masterpiece, it is the obverse that demands our attention, for it is perhaps the most daring and inventive of all chariot scenes produced at Syracuse. Only about a decade before these dies were cut, the chariot scene on Syracusan tetradrachms had evolved from a somber, canonical depiction inspired by an Attic vase painting into an explosive scene in which the horses were shown in high action. With this innovation it was shown at a slight angle so the artist could dwell on the physiognomies of the horses and could show the chariot with a new perspective. The style of the chariot scene in the century prior to these innovations was formulaic: though the position of the Nike varied, the chariot was shown in profile, with only the slight overlapping of the horses and the separation of their heads to indicate that more than one was present. Very few dies from that initial century diverged even slightly from the standard formula (see Boehringer dies V45, V107, V286, V291, V326), with the work of a single artist in about 440 B.C. (Boehringer dies V295 and V296) being noteworthy, if not especially accomplished. Once we enter this dynamic period of about 415 to 385 B.C. some extraordinarily talented artists energized Syracusan coins with a level of innovation that had never before been seen. Not surprisingly, several of these artists signed their dies and produced works that were influential far beyond the shores of Sicily. Leading the way was Euainetos, who seems to have been the first to express complete freedom in the way he depicted the chariot at an angle, as if it was turning the bend (Tudeer die 10).