Nomos AG
Auction 25 20 Nov 2022
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CILICIA. Nagidos. Circa 400-380 BC. Stater (Silver, 21 mm, 10.71 g, 6 h). Bearded head of Dionysos to right, wearing ivy wreath. Rev. ΝΑΓΙΔΕΩΝ Head of Aphrodite to right, her hair bound in a sphendone, wearing an elaborate pendant earring and a pearl necklace; above, ΕΠ. Casabonne Type 7. Lederer 14. SNG BN -. SNG Levante 2. With a splendid head of Dionysos in the finest Classical style. Test cut on the reverse, otherwise, extremely fine.
Coins are ideal for sharing ideas due to their portability. Not only did they serve as vehicles for the creativity of the artists who engraved the dies used to strike them, they also reflect the culture that produced them by depicting elements important to the issuing city. Here we have a coin with two heads, the god Dionysos on the obverse and the goddess Aphrodite on the reverse. Both were important to the city of Nagidos, having their roots in Hittite religion, but by the time this coin was issued had been syncretized to the dominant Greek culture of the day. Both express in their engraving a competence not often seen in ancient Greek coinage, and the artist (or artists) who engraved these dies were certainly masters of their genre. The portrait of Dionysos especially displays an artistic merit that is both refined and, basically, just incredible, and is marvelously executed in the finest Classical style.
Coins are ideal for sharing ideas due to their portability. Not only did they serve as vehicles for the creativity of the artists who engraved the dies used to strike them, they also reflect the culture that produced them by depicting elements important to the issuing city. Here we have a coin with two heads, the god Dionysos on the obverse and the goddess Aphrodite on the reverse. Both were important to the city of Nagidos, having their roots in Hittite religion, but by the time this coin was issued had been syncretized to the dominant Greek culture of the day. Both express in their engraving a competence not often seen in ancient Greek coinage, and the artist (or artists) who engraved these dies were certainly masters of their genre. The portrait of Dionysos especially displays an artistic merit that is both refined and, basically, just incredible, and is marvelously executed in the finest Classical style.