Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XXIV 19-20 Jan 2021
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MYSIA, Kyzikos. Circa 450-330 BC. EL Stater (17mm, 16.02 g). Bearded male, nude but for petasos and cloak tied at neck, crouching left on the back of a sacrificial ram lying left, holding its head up with his left hand, exposing its neck that he prepares to strike with a knife held above in his right hand / Quadripartite incuse square. Von Fritze I 156; Greenwell 71; Boston MFA –; SNG BN –; BMC –; FSD –; Gillet 1604; Gulbenkian –; Jameson –; Myrmekion –; Prospero 451; Regling, Kunstwerk 623; Traité II 2645. Lightly toned. Near EF. Very rare, and better condition than the Prospero example which hammered at $40,000 on a $20,000 estimate.
From the Jonathan P. Rosen Collection. Ex Roma XI (7 April 2016), lot 421 (hammer £26,000).
The identification of the male on the obverse has long been debated. M. F. Lenormant first suggested Phrixos sacrificing the ram with the golden fleece, but Greenwell preferred Odysseus slaying the animal Circe provided him before his descent into Hades, in part due to the figure being bearded, which indicated an older individual, which contrasts with the youthful portraits traditionally given to Phrixos.
From the Jonathan P. Rosen Collection. Ex Roma XI (7 April 2016), lot 421 (hammer £26,000).
The identification of the male on the obverse has long been debated. M. F. Lenormant first suggested Phrixos sacrificing the ram with the golden fleece, but Greenwell preferred Odysseus slaying the animal Circe provided him before his descent into Hades, in part due to the figure being bearded, which indicated an older individual, which contrasts with the youthful portraits traditionally given to Phrixos.