Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXV 22-23 Sep 2022
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Sicily, Leontinoi AR Tetradrachm. Circa 467-466 BC. Dies by the 'Demareteion Master'. Charioteer, holding kentron and reins, driving walking biga to right; Nike above, flying to left to crown charioteer; crouching lion to right in exergue / Laureate head of Apollo to right; ΛEONTINON and three leaves around; below, lion to right. Boehringer, Münzgeschichte 29 (same obv. die); SNG ANS 217 (same dies); Randazzo pl. 4, 88-89 (same dies); Rizzo pl. XXII, 14 (same dies); Kraay-Hirmer 19 (same dies); Gulbenkian 211 (same dies); Basel 348; HGC 2, 665. 16.89g, 36mm, 6h.
Good Very Fine; some corrosion and pitting. Toned and lustrous.
From the David Freedman Collection;
Ex private European collection, Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 52, 10 January 2019, lot 110;
Ex Marti Hervera and Soler & Llach, Auction 1095, 23 February 2017, lot 1.
The dies for this iconic masterpiece of late archaic numismatic art are confidently attributed as the work of the individual known as the 'Demareteion Master', who engraved dekadrachm and tetradrachm dies for Syracuse; the refined style of the Apollo along with the crouching lion link this beautiful coin to that most famous of series. The hand of this individual can be seen in the distinctive style of his portraiture on the coins of both cities - in particular when one compares the eye-brow, eye form, delicate nose, pointed chin and slightly parted lips.
The obverse bears obvious similarities to the Syracusan Demareteion issue; indeed the quadriga became almost synonymous with the Deinomenid realm. The exergual lion present on both the issues at Syracuse and Leontinoi is almost certainly an allusion to the Emmenid family and Demarete's ancestors - the tyrants of Akragas claimed descent from the son of Oedipus, Polyneikes, whose shield device was a lion. The reverse of the piece meanwhile mirrors Arethusa's four dolphins with laurel leaves, both portraits are laureate, and only in the addition of the lion - a punning allusion to the city itself, does the issue diverge significantly.
The occasion of the striking of this type is sometimes suggested as being a celebration of the fall of the Deinomenid tyrant Hieron and the independence of Leontinoi, around 466 BC. Both Holloway and Arnold-Biucchi contradict this, noting the clear associations with the Deinomenids present on the coin. Arnold-Biucchi, citing the hoard evidence of Randazzo, notes that it would be logical for the Syracusan Demareteion types to have been struck some time (perhaps as much as a decade) before those of Leontinoi, given the advances in style present on the latter, and the sometimes significant wear on the former. It is more logical that the first post-Deinomenid coinage of Leontinoi should be the series placing the head of Apollo on the obverse, which also displays a significant degree of artistic distinction while disposing of those types that were so closely associated with the tyrants. The present type should instead be seen to have been minted a short time after the similarly styled issues at Syracuse.
This historically, artistically and numismatically important issue was even smaller than that produced at Syracuse, and is rightly considered to be one of the great masterpieces of early 5th century Sicilian coinage.
Good Very Fine; some corrosion and pitting. Toned and lustrous.
From the David Freedman Collection;
Ex private European collection, Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 52, 10 January 2019, lot 110;
Ex Marti Hervera and Soler & Llach, Auction 1095, 23 February 2017, lot 1.
The dies for this iconic masterpiece of late archaic numismatic art are confidently attributed as the work of the individual known as the 'Demareteion Master', who engraved dekadrachm and tetradrachm dies for Syracuse; the refined style of the Apollo along with the crouching lion link this beautiful coin to that most famous of series. The hand of this individual can be seen in the distinctive style of his portraiture on the coins of both cities - in particular when one compares the eye-brow, eye form, delicate nose, pointed chin and slightly parted lips.
The obverse bears obvious similarities to the Syracusan Demareteion issue; indeed the quadriga became almost synonymous with the Deinomenid realm. The exergual lion present on both the issues at Syracuse and Leontinoi is almost certainly an allusion to the Emmenid family and Demarete's ancestors - the tyrants of Akragas claimed descent from the son of Oedipus, Polyneikes, whose shield device was a lion. The reverse of the piece meanwhile mirrors Arethusa's four dolphins with laurel leaves, both portraits are laureate, and only in the addition of the lion - a punning allusion to the city itself, does the issue diverge significantly.
The occasion of the striking of this type is sometimes suggested as being a celebration of the fall of the Deinomenid tyrant Hieron and the independence of Leontinoi, around 466 BC. Both Holloway and Arnold-Biucchi contradict this, noting the clear associations with the Deinomenids present on the coin. Arnold-Biucchi, citing the hoard evidence of Randazzo, notes that it would be logical for the Syracusan Demareteion types to have been struck some time (perhaps as much as a decade) before those of Leontinoi, given the advances in style present on the latter, and the sometimes significant wear on the former. It is more logical that the first post-Deinomenid coinage of Leontinoi should be the series placing the head of Apollo on the obverse, which also displays a significant degree of artistic distinction while disposing of those types that were so closely associated with the tyrants. The present type should instead be seen to have been minted a short time after the similarly styled issues at Syracuse.
This historically, artistically and numismatically important issue was even smaller than that produced at Syracuse, and is rightly considered to be one of the great masterpieces of early 5th century Sicilian coinage.