Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XXIV 19-20 Jan 2021
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THRACE, Philippopolis. Elagabalus. AD 218-222. Æ Pentassarion (29mm, 17.35 g, 7h). AVT K M AVPH ANTΩNEINOC, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / MHTPOПOΛEΩC ΦIΛIППOПOΛEΩC (NE)Ω, KOPOV in exergue, Hercules, naked, lion skin draped over right forearm, standing right, resting right hand on hip and holding club set on rock in left hand. Mouchmov, Philippopolis –; Varbanov 1723 (same dies as illustration); CN Online cn.philippopolis.11037. Brown and green patina, minor edge flaw. EF. Fine style with an artistic rendering of a weary Hercules. Very rare.
This reverse type copies a famed Greek bronze sculpture dating to the 4th century BC, generally thought to be the work of the artist Lysippus. It depicts a weary Hercules after completing his Labors: he is shown leaning on his club, draped with the skin of the Nemean Lion and set upright on a rock, and he holds the Apples of the Hesperides behind his back in his right hand. Like many other masterpieces of Greek art, Lysippus's sculpture was widely copied by the Romans. The most famous copy of this particular work is the marble "Farnese Hercules," discovered in the excavations of the Baths of Caracalla in 1546. It stood for over 200 years in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, from whence it gained its name, and was moved to Naples in 1787, where it is now displayed in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale.
This reverse type copies a famed Greek bronze sculpture dating to the 4th century BC, generally thought to be the work of the artist Lysippus. It depicts a weary Hercules after completing his Labors: he is shown leaning on his club, draped with the skin of the Nemean Lion and set upright on a rock, and he holds the Apples of the Hesperides behind his back in his right hand. Like many other masterpieces of Greek art, Lysippus's sculpture was widely copied by the Romans. The most famous copy of this particular work is the marble "Farnese Hercules," discovered in the excavations of the Baths of Caracalla in 1546. It stood for over 200 years in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, from whence it gained its name, and was moved to Naples in 1787, where it is now displayed in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale.