Dramatic Moment in the Taurokathapsia

325, Lot: 1. Estimate $200. Sold for $190. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THESSALY, Thessalian League. Mid-late 1st century BC. Æ Tetrachalkon or Trihemiobol (26mm, 17.88 g, 12h). Eubiotos and Petraios, magistrates. Laureate head of Zeus right / Taurokathapsia scene: the hero Thessalos jumping from his horse, in background galloping right, onto bull running right, the head of which he restrains with a band; EYBIOTOY above, [ΠETPAIOΣ] below. Burrer p. 62; Rogers 58 corr. (scene misdescribed); BCD Thessaly II 897.3-4 (same obv. die). VF, green patina, struck off center.

From the BCD Collection.

This scene depicts a dangerous moment in the taurokathapsia, as described by BCD in the Triton sale: The man has just jumped off his horse, which is galloping away in the background, and has put the band around the bull’s forehead... we can see one of his legs dangling in the air below the bull. His body is hidden by the bull’s body, but we can see his head and his arms, especially his right one.