Watch List notes:

JDL Collection Part II: Geek Coins
SICILY

NAXOS, Tetradrachm c. 460,

Attic standard, AR 16.85 g. Work attributed to
"The Brussels Master", also called "The Aetna Master".
Obv. Bearded head of Dionysus right, bound with ivy- wreath, hair turned up and tied above his neck; border of dots.
Rev. N-AXI-ON Naked, ithyphallic, and bearded Silenus, seated facing, head turned left, raising cantharus to his lips with right hand.
Literature
BMC Sicily 118, 7 (these dies) SNG ANS 515 (these dies) SNG Lockett 840 (these dies)
Baumann 22 (obverse) and 160 (reverse)
H. A. Cahn, Die Münzen der sizilischen Stadt Naxos, Basel, 1944, 54.37 (this coin)
L. & M. Lanckoron` ski, Das griechische Antlitz in Meisterwer- ken der Münzkunst, Amsterdam, 1940, p. 37 (this coin)
G. E. Rizzo, op. Cit., pl. XXIX, 1 (these dies) Antikenmuseum Basel 384 (these dies)
Du Chastel 43 (these dies)
F. de Callataÿ & H. Gitler, The Coin of Coins: a World Premiere, Jerusalem, 2004, p. 36 (these dies)
M.-M. Bendenoun, Coins of the Ancient World, A portrait of the JDL Collection, Tradart, Genève, 2009, 4 (this coin)
Condition
Rare. A plesant specimen of this magnificent issue, possibly the finest example of late Archaic style in Sicily and one of the most impressive representations on an Ancient Greek coin. Struck on a very broad flan, old cabinet tone and about extremely fine.

Provenance
Adolph Hess AG 252, Luzern 1982, lot 29. From the Gotha Coin Cabinet collection.
Like most Greek cities of Sicily, Naxos had a difficult history. After being attacked early in the 5th Century by Hippocrates, tyrant of Gela, it soon fell to the Deinomenids of Syracuse. In 476 the city was destroyed by Hieron, who moved its inhabi- tants, along with those of Catana. He then repopulated Naxos and Catana with thousands of citizens of Corinthian and Pelo- ponnesian origin. With the return of democracy to Syracuse in 460, the original inhabitants of Naxos and Catana were able to reclaim their homes.
Upon their return, one joint effort between Catana and Naxos was the engraving of coin dies. Both cities apparently em- ployed the Aetna Master, who earlier appears to have been employed by the Syracusans at Catana (which they renamed Aetna during their occupation), where he is credited with having engraved dies for the unique tetradrachm of Aetna from which his name is derived.
Much like the engravers of the earlier coinage of Naxos, this artist was profoundly influenced by contemporary Attic art. The masterful head of Dionysus appears as though taken straight from Athenian Red Figure ware of the late Archaic period, pe- rhaps from the prolific work of Douris, who painted from about 500 to 460 B.C.
Dionysus' mature, virile appearance is realised through the contrast of his smooth neck and face with the stiff, bristly texture of his hair and beard. The design exceeds the beaded border at four points, creating yet another attractive element of design. The frontal eye so strongly associated with Archaic art is now absent, but the arched eyebrow and the faint Archaic smile are retained. The proportions are naturalistic, which helps place it in the transitional era.
The reverse composition is similarly a work of genius: the virile, ithyphallic Silenus sits with his feet drawn in. He sup- ports his weight with his straightened left arm as with his right hand he balances a two-handled cantharus (wine cup) on his shoulder. The clever foreshortening of Silenus' feet has few, if any, parallels in Greek numismatics. The god's head, with its heavy brow, pug nose, pursed lips, bestial ear and cascading mustache, is a delight to behold. Most remarkable, however, is his contemplative expression: clearly inebriated, he appears absorbed in deep thought, perhaps sizing up the qualities of the wine. This image is in keeping with Silenus' reputation for ha- ving been perpetually drunk, yet still capable of deep thought; indeed, he was considered so wise that both King Midas and Dionysus chose him as their teacher.