Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Auction 121 6-8 Oct 2022
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SICILY, Syracuse. Dionysios I. 405-367 BC. AR Dekadrachm (36mm, 43.30 g, 6h). Reverse Signed by Euainetos. Struck circa 405-390 BC. Charioteer, holding kentron in extended right hand and reins in left, driving fast quadriga left; above, Nike flying right, crowning charioteer with laurel wreath held in her extended hands; below heavy exergual line, [military harness, shield], greaves, cuirass, and crested Attic helmet, all connected by a horizontal spear; [AΘΛA below] / Head of Arethousa left, wearing wreath of grain ears, triple-pendant earring, and pearl necklace; [ΣΥ-ΡΑ]-Κ-ΟΣ-ΙΩΝ above, Δ below chin, four swimming dolphins around, and EY-AINE along lower edge. Gallatin dies R.IX/D.II, 37 (this coin); Scavino 33 (D9/R18a); HGC 2, 1299; SNG Lloyd 1413; Dewing 898–900; Basel 481; BMC 173; Boston MFA 425; Hunterian 53; Rizzo pl. LIV, 5 and pl. LVI, 5 (all from the same dies). Toned, some die rust as usual, small repair on cheek of Arethousa (a lightly filled spot that may be reversed by a professional restorer). Near EF.
From the Father & Son Collection, purchased from ArtAncient (after repair to cheek). Ex Heritage 3040 (9 April 2015), lot 29017; Frederick J. Woodbridge Collection (Sotheby Zürich, 7 May 1975), lot 60; Ars Classica XIII (27 June 1928), lot 341.
The engraver Euainetos seems to have begun his series of signed dekadrachm dies a few years after Kimon; perhaps he began as an apprentice and "graduated" to master status. His dekadrachm design superseded that of Kimon and became a paradigm for coinage throughout the classical world. His Arethousa is less human and more divine than his predecessor's vision. The wreath of grain ears woven into her hair symbolizes the agricultural bounty of Sicily. His racing chariot is the essence of action, almost photographically frozen in time, with the charging, rearing horses appearing to levitate above the ground line. The design was widely copied on later coinage of Syracuse, as well as by the Carthaginian forces in Sicily.
From the Father & Son Collection, purchased from ArtAncient (after repair to cheek). Ex Heritage 3040 (9 April 2015), lot 29017; Frederick J. Woodbridge Collection (Sotheby Zürich, 7 May 1975), lot 60; Ars Classica XIII (27 June 1928), lot 341.
The engraver Euainetos seems to have begun his series of signed dekadrachm dies a few years after Kimon; perhaps he began as an apprentice and "graduated" to master status. His dekadrachm design superseded that of Kimon and became a paradigm for coinage throughout the classical world. His Arethousa is less human and more divine than his predecessor's vision. The wreath of grain ears woven into her hair symbolizes the agricultural bounty of Sicily. His racing chariot is the essence of action, almost photographically frozen in time, with the charging, rearing horses appearing to levitate above the ground line. The design was widely copied on later coinage of Syracuse, as well as by the Carthaginian forces in Sicily.