Nomos AG
Auction 25 20 Nov 2022
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MYSIA. Kyzikos. Circa 550-500 BC. Stater (Electrum, 19 mm, 16.08 g). Harpy, her diademed head adorned with a plume, standing to left on a dotted ground line, holding a tunny by its tail with her right hand and supporting it with her left. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. BMFA 1441. Greenwell 97. Cf. SNG Paris 203-4 (hektes). Von Fritze 74, and pl. II, 29 (same obverse die?). Light toning around the devices, perfect centering. Nearly extremely fine.
What is this harpy doing? On the surface she is simply holding the city badge, thus connected the magistrate's identifier - the harpy - with the city in a more intimate way since she is not just standing on the tunny. But could it be more than that? Could it be that the die was designed as a kind of "in-joke" referring to a well-known woman, the owner of one of the fish markets of Kyzikos?
What is this harpy doing? On the surface she is simply holding the city badge, thus connected the magistrate's identifier - the harpy - with the city in a more intimate way since she is not just standing on the tunny. But could it be more than that? Could it be that the die was designed as a kind of "in-joke" referring to a well-known woman, the owner of one of the fish markets of Kyzikos?