|
BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom. Theophilos Autokrator. Circa 130-129 BC. AR Tetradrachm (35mm, 17.04 g, 12h). Diademed and draped bust right / BAΣIΛEΩΣ AYTOKPATOPOΣ around, [Θ]EOΦΙΛ[OY] in exergue, Athena Nikephoros seated left on cuirass and shield, holding spear; monogram to inner left. Bopearachchi 1A = Qunduz 615 (same dies); Bopearachchi & Rahman –; SNG ANS –; MIG Type 371a (second example illustrated; same obv. die); HGC 12, 165. In NGC encapsulation 6157848-002, graded Ch AU, Strike: 3/5, Surface: 4/5, flan flaws. One of five known, only the Gorny and Spink coins in CoinArchives.
The five examples of this issue are known with only the ù and f monograms, and were struck from one obverse die and a total of three reverse dies:
ù monogram:
A/a1
1) Qunduz 615.
2) this coin.
A/a2
1) MIG 371a (second example) = Spink 165, lot 157 = Numismatic Fine
Arts XXV, lot 243.
A/a3
1)Gorny & Mosch 207, lot 460.
f monogram:
A/b1
1) HGC 12, 223 = MIG 371a (first example) = BM Inv. 1965,0410.1.
Except for a few extremely rare coins, Theophilos Autokrator is unknown to history. The name Theophilos, meaning “beloved of god,” occurs infrequently in the pre-Christian Greek world, most famously as a correspondent of the evangelist Luke. Among Hellenistic rulers, the only coins to bear the name are found in the Baktrian and Indo-Greek realms. The unresolved question remains, was there just one King Theophilos, or were there two? The surviving silver coins are on two weight standards, the larger and heavier Attic standard with Greek legends (the present example), and the bilingual Indo-Greek standard (see Triton XXV, lot 567). The Attic coins depict a lean, sharp-nosed man with the name and titles King Theophilos Autokrator (”the Self-Empowered”), while the Indo-Greek issues depict a man with a somewhat more rounded nose and the epithet Dikaios (”the Just”). The reverses are also distinctly different: The Attic type depicts a seated Athena Nikephoros, while the Indic examples show a standing Herakles with club and lion skin. Experts differ as to whether one or two rulers are depicted. Osmund Bopearachchi contends the Theophilos Autokrator and Dikaios are one in the same, citing as evidence what he calls the similarity in portraits and the identical treatment of their diadem ties, with one straight and the other crooked. Jens Jakobsson, in Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society 202 (2010), contends they are separate; that Dikaios’ use of Herakles as a reverse type links him with the Euthydemid Dynasty and to his near-contemporary, Zoilos (see lot 498), while Autokrator’s use of Athena links him more closely to the line of the great Indo-Greek ruler Menander. He also points out the dissimilar aspects of the portraiture and the stylistic resemblance of Theophilos Autokrator to the last Greek kings of Baktria proper, Eukratides II, Platon and Heliokles I. As for dating, the epithet Autokrator was also employed by the Seleukid usurper Diodotos Tryphon (ruled 139-138 BC), and “apparently refers to an assertion of independence.” Jakobsson further proposes that Theophilos Autokrator was a “princelet who briefly rose against the new rulers of Bactria (Sakas or Yuezhi, or even the Parthaians) after the Greek kingdom had ceased to exist” in the late 130s or 120s BC, and thus was the last Greek king of Baktria proper. Another possibility is that the same Theophilos ruled in Baktria and Pakistan / northern India at different times, perhaps years or decades apart, employing different titles and iconography each time.
The final winners of all Triton XXVI lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 10-11 January 2023.
Triton XXVI – Session Two – Lot 335-673 will be held Tuesday afternoon, 10 January 2023 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
|
