Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 531 25-26 Jan 2023
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EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ Drachm (32mm, 20.79 g, 12h). Dated RY 12 (AD 148/49). Laureate head right / Isis seated right on throne, holding infant Harpokrates; all within distyle Egyptian-style temple façade, solar disk in pediment; L ΔωΔЄ KATOV (date) around. Köln 1609; Dattari (Savio) 3045; K&G 35.438; RPC IV.4 13647; Emmett 1587.12. Brown surfaces with green deposits, minor roughness, flan crack. Fine.
From the Dr. Michael Slavin Collection, purchased from Nilus Coins, April 1999.
Following Alexander's conquest of Egypt, the cult of Isis spread across the Mediterranean, with its popularity reaching its zenith in the Roman period, when the "goddess of a thousand names" became one of the Mediterranean's principal deities. It is generally recognized that the iconography of Isis nursing Harpocrates influenced Christian representations of the Madonna and Child, particularly the Virgo lactans type popular in Medieval Europe.
From the Dr. Michael Slavin Collection, purchased from Nilus Coins, April 1999.
Following Alexander's conquest of Egypt, the cult of Isis spread across the Mediterranean, with its popularity reaching its zenith in the Roman period, when the "goddess of a thousand names" became one of the Mediterranean's principal deities. It is generally recognized that the iconography of Isis nursing Harpocrates influenced Christian representations of the Madonna and Child, particularly the Virgo lactans type popular in Medieval Europe.