289
Mysia, Kyzikos EL Stater. Circa 500-450 BC. Cerberus standing to left on tunny fish /
In Auction XII
Description
Mysia, Kyzikos EL Stater. Circa 500-450 BC. Cerberus standing to left on tunny fish / Quadripartite incuse square. Von Fritze 10; Boston 1538. 15.90g, 19mm. Etremely Fine. Extremely Rare. Ex David Walsh Collection, privately purchased in 2001. Early Greek descriptions of Cerberus (Kerberos) vary greatly. The earliest literary appearance of Cerberus in Hesiod’s Theogeny (c. 8th – 7th centuries BC) portrays the monster with fifty heads, while Pindar (c.522-443 BC) gives him one hundred heads. Later writers however almost all describe Cerberus as having three heads. For practical reasons, representations of Cerberus in Greek art often depict him with two visible heads (the third being assumed to be hidden), but occasionally three heads, and rarely only one, are also seen. The earliest securely datable artefact depicting a three-headed Cerberus is a mid-sixth century BC Laconian cup by the Hunt painter, which clearly shows the beast with three canine heads, covered by a coat of snakes, and a tail ending in a snake’s head, held on a chain leash by Herakles. A slightly later amphora fount at Vulci c.525-510 (Louvre F204) shows a two-headed Cerberus in similar pose to that on our present coin, also with a snake-headed tail. Though representations of Cerberus in Greek art are fairly common, with the familiar story of Herakles’ twelfth labour being a popular motif, depictions of Cerberus on Greek coins are seemingly limited to only this issue of Kyzikos, an extremely rare bronze issue of Epeiros (see Roma Numismatics 4, lot 114), and an exceedingly rare stater of Cumae in Campania (Rutter 76). Barclay Head proposed that the appearance of the monster here was in reference to or in honour of the city of Kimmerikon, sited on the southern shore of the Cimmerian Bosphorus which had previously been known as Cerberion (Pliny 6, 6, 6, 18), based on the assumption that the city would have been a familiar destination for Kyzikene traders. However it is probably incorrect to assign any specific significance to the type, since it is well known that Kyzikos frequently took inspiration for its coin types from the art of other Greek city-states’ coins and wares. The designs of Kyzikos’ coinage appear to have been decided upon apparently without necessarily requiring said types to have any deep meaning to either Kyzikene citizens or indeed anyone else in particular, often being admired it seems purely for their compositional beauty. Since the design of this coin does not copy any known type (the Epeirote bronze not being issued until the mid-fourth century), and Cerberos on Rutter 76 being of markedly different style (and only part of the design), it is probable that it copies the design of a vase or other vessel, such as the aforementioned Louvre F204 - an Attic red figure amphora - which found its way to Kyzikos. Regardless of the origin of the design, the present coin is a magnificent example of this important mythological theme, and is one of very few known staters of the type, the hektes being relatively more plentiful, but still rare.
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Mysia, Kyzikos EL Stater. Circa 500-450 BC. Cerberus standing to left on tunny fish / Quadripartite incuse square. Von Fritze 10; Boston 1538. 15.90g, 19mm. Etremely Fine. Extremely Rare. Ex David Walsh Collection, privately purchased in 2001. Early Greek descriptions of Cerberus (Kerberos) vary greatly. The earliest literary appearance of Cerberus in Hesiod’s Theogeny (c. 8th – 7th centuries BC) portrays the monster with fifty heads, while Pindar (c.522-443 BC) gives him one hundred heads. Later writers however almost all describe Cerberus as having three heads. For practical reasons, representations of Cerberus in Greek art often depict him with two visible heads (the third being assumed to be hidden), but occasionally three heads, and rarely only one, are also seen. The earliest securely datable artefact depicting a three-headed Cerberus is a mid-sixth century BC Laconian cup by the Hunt painter, which clearly shows the beast with three canine heads, covered by a coat of snakes, and a tail ending in a snake’s head, held on a chain leash by Herakles. A slightly later amphora fount at Vulci c.525-510 (Louvre F204) shows a two-headed Cerberus in similar pose to that on our present coin, also with a snake-headed tail. Though representations of Cerberus in Greek art are fairly common, with the familiar story of Herakles’ twelfth labour being a popular motif, depictions of Cerberus on Greek coins are seemingly limited to only this issue of Kyzikos, an extremely rare bronze issue of Epeiros (see Roma Numismatics 4, lot 114), and an exceedingly rare stater of Cumae in Campania (Rutter 76). Barclay Head proposed that the appearance of the monster here was in reference to or in honour of the city of Kimmerikon, sited on the southern shore of the Cimmerian Bosphorus which had previously been known as Cerberion (Pliny 6, 6, 6, 18), based on the assumption that the city would have been a familiar destination for Kyzikene traders. However it is probably incorrect to assign any specific significance to the type, since it is well known that Kyzikos frequently took inspiration for its coin types from the art of other Greek city-states’ coins and wares. The designs of Kyzikos’ coinage appear to have been decided upon apparently without necessarily requiring said types to have any deep meaning to either Kyzikene citizens or indeed anyone else in particular, often being admired it seems purely for their compositional beauty. Since the design of this coin does not copy any known type (the Epeirote bronze not being issued until the mid-fourth century), and Cerberos on Rutter 76 being of markedly different style (and only part of the design), it is probable that it copies the design of a vase or other vessel, such as the aforementioned Louvre F204 - an Attic red figure amphora - which found its way to Kyzikos. Regardless of the origin of the design, the present coin is a magnificent example of this important mythological theme, and is one of very few known staters of the type, the hektes being relatively more plentiful, but still rare.
Auction XII
Sale Date(s)
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ROMA NUMISMATICS
AUCTION XII
29 September 2016
11:00 Greek Coins
13:00 Roman, Migration Period, Byzantine and World Coins
18:00 End of Sale
Location:
The Alto Room
The Cavendish Hotel London
81 Jermyn Street
London
SW1Y 6JF
United Kingdom
Viewing:
At the office of Roma Numismatics
20 Fitzroy Square
London, W1T 6EJ
United Kingdom
From August 29th – September 28th:
Monday – Friday, 09:30 – 17:30
Lots will not be available for viewing during the sale.
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W1T 6EJ
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