Caracalla as Demiourgos

351, Lot: 556. Estimate $100. Sold for $300. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CILICIA, Tarsus. Caracalla. AD 198-217. Æ (28mm, 12.70 g, 6h). Mantled bust right, wearing demiourgic crown / River-god Cydnus reclining left, holding cornucopia and leaning on overturned amphora from which water flows; bull reclining at feet. SNG France 1537; SNG Levante 1061 var. (rev. legend). Near VF, dark brown patina with green highlights.

From the Dr. George Spradling Collection. Ex Gorny & Mosch 118 (15 October 2002), lot 1803.

Caracalla wears both the crown and the mantle of the demiourgos, the official who oversaw the operation of regional festivals and games.