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Lucania, Poseidonia AR Stater. Circa 530-500 BC. Poseidon, diademed and wearing chlamys over
In Auction XIII
Description
Lucania, Poseidonia AR Stater. Circa 530-500 BC. Poseidon, diademed and wearing chlamys over shoulders, advancing right, wielding trident in upraised right hand and extending left hand before him; ΠOΣ behind / Incuse of obverse, but with ΠOΣ in relief. HN Italy 1107; Gillet photo file 207 (same dies); SNG Locker Lampson 25; NAC 64, 639 = NAC 78, 1352 (same dies). 7.53g, 30mm, 12h. Near Mint State. Very Rare. In truly exceptional state of preservation, displaying perfect metal and a wonderful level of detail. Engraved in finest archaic style; a bold, monumental type. One of the very finest of all the known incuse Poseidonia staters. From the collection of an antiquarian, Bavaria c. 1960s-1990s. Little is known of Poseidonia from its foundation at around the end of the Seventh Century BC by colonists from Sybaris other than that information which can be gleaned from archaeological study of the city and its remaining artefacts. The literary tradition offers only a terminus ante quem for the foundation, circa 530, provided by Herodotos who refers to the city as in existence when Hyele was founded c.540-535. The archaeological evidence suggests a foundation date of c.600 (E. Greco; Poseidonia ii. 73 n. 7). Evidence from votive figurines and the city’s architecture suggest close trade relations with Metapontion during the sixth and fifth centuries, but the relationship with its mother city appears not to be have been particularly strong, since its coins are struck on the Campanian-Phokaian standard rather than the Italic-Achaian standard in use at Sybaris. Nonetheless, Poseidonia accepted refugees from Sybaris after their city was destroyed by Kroton in 510, evidenced by the fact that in the early fifth century Poseidonia's coins adopted the Achaian weight standard and the bull seen on Sybarite coins. A. J. Graham (Colony and Mother City in Ancient Greece, 1999) thinks it was plausible that the number of refugees was large enough for some kind of synoecism to have occurred between the Poseidonians and the Sybarites, possibly in the form of a sympolity. Poseidonia’s relationship to the Sybarites then remained strong enough that in 453 Sybaris was refounded with the apparent blessing and sponsorship of Poseidonia. The city does not make further appearance in the classical sources until the late fifth century, when according to Strabo it was conquered by the Lucani. Although Aristoxenos would have us believe that the Greek identity of the city was effaced and that the Poseidoniatai were completely barbarianised, a sizeable Greek population must have remained despite the conquest, as the archaeological record shows both Greek and Oscan culture continuing to thrive alongside one another. Despite no single temple having been definitively identified as pertaining to Poseidon, the cult of this god must have played an important role in the city, as evidenced both by its name and by the principle type of its coinage, of which the present piece is a magnificent example. The outstanding quality of the engraving is noteworthy; we are presented with two well-proportioned and finely detailed images of what must surely have been a statue, which many scholars have with good reason assumed that this figure was inspired by, such is the consistency with which it is depicted (though minor variations of detail, including the beard, do occur) and the monumental quality it possesses. Indeed, the figure bears much similarity to the Artemision Bronze in compositional style; proponents of the argument that the Artemision Bronze is Poseidon (rather than Zeus) cite the coinage of Poseidonia in their favour.
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Lucania, Poseidonia AR Stater. Circa 530-500 BC. Poseidon, diademed and wearing chlamys over shoulders, advancing right, wielding trident in upraised right hand and extending left hand before him; ΠOΣ behind / Incuse of obverse, but with ΠOΣ in relief. HN Italy 1107; Gillet photo file 207 (same dies); SNG Locker Lampson 25; NAC 64, 639 = NAC 78, 1352 (same dies). 7.53g, 30mm, 12h. Near Mint State. Very Rare. In truly exceptional state of preservation, displaying perfect metal and a wonderful level of detail. Engraved in finest archaic style; a bold, monumental type. One of the very finest of all the known incuse Poseidonia staters. From the collection of an antiquarian, Bavaria c. 1960s-1990s. Little is known of Poseidonia from its foundation at around the end of the Seventh Century BC by colonists from Sybaris other than that information which can be gleaned from archaeological study of the city and its remaining artefacts. The literary tradition offers only a terminus ante quem for the foundation, circa 530, provided by Herodotos who refers to the city as in existence when Hyele was founded c.540-535. The archaeological evidence suggests a foundation date of c.600 (E. Greco; Poseidonia ii. 73 n. 7). Evidence from votive figurines and the city’s architecture suggest close trade relations with Metapontion during the sixth and fifth centuries, but the relationship with its mother city appears not to be have been particularly strong, since its coins are struck on the Campanian-Phokaian standard rather than the Italic-Achaian standard in use at Sybaris. Nonetheless, Poseidonia accepted refugees from Sybaris after their city was destroyed by Kroton in 510, evidenced by the fact that in the early fifth century Poseidonia's coins adopted the Achaian weight standard and the bull seen on Sybarite coins. A. J. Graham (Colony and Mother City in Ancient Greece, 1999) thinks it was plausible that the number of refugees was large enough for some kind of synoecism to have occurred between the Poseidonians and the Sybarites, possibly in the form of a sympolity. Poseidonia’s relationship to the Sybarites then remained strong enough that in 453 Sybaris was refounded with the apparent blessing and sponsorship of Poseidonia. The city does not make further appearance in the classical sources until the late fifth century, when according to Strabo it was conquered by the Lucani. Although Aristoxenos would have us believe that the Greek identity of the city was effaced and that the Poseidoniatai were completely barbarianised, a sizeable Greek population must have remained despite the conquest, as the archaeological record shows both Greek and Oscan culture continuing to thrive alongside one another. Despite no single temple having been definitively identified as pertaining to Poseidon, the cult of this god must have played an important role in the city, as evidenced both by its name and by the principle type of its coinage, of which the present piece is a magnificent example. The outstanding quality of the engraving is noteworthy; we are presented with two well-proportioned and finely detailed images of what must surely have been a statue, which many scholars have with good reason assumed that this figure was inspired by, such is the consistency with which it is depicted (though minor variations of detail, including the beard, do occur) and the monumental quality it possesses. Indeed, the figure bears much similarity to the Artemision Bronze in compositional style; proponents of the argument that the Artemision Bronze is Poseidon (rather than Zeus) cite the coinage of Poseidonia in their favour.
Auction XIII
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Important Information
ROMA NUMISMATICS LTD.
AUCTION XIII
23 March 2017
10:00 Celtic and Greek Coins
13:30 Roman, Migration Period, Byzantine and World Coins
18:00 Coins of Carausius, Allectus and the Mint of London
Location:
The Alto Room
The Cavendish Hotel
81 Jermyn Street
London, SW1Y 6JF
United Kingdom
Viewing:
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London, W1T 6EJ
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From February 23rd - March 22nd:
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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