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PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy IV Philopator. 222-205/4 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 14.17 g, 12h). Alexandreia mint. Struck circa 219-217 BC. Jugate draped busts right of Serapis and Isis / Eagle standing left, head right, on thunderbolt; filleted double cornucopia over shoulder, ΔI between legs. CPE 892; Svoronos 1123–4; Landvatter Group 4, 45 (O12/R35 [mislabelled as 44a and R 34 on the plate]); SNG Copenhagen 197–8. Lightly toned, traces of horn silver, faint cleaning marks on obverse. Near EF.
This type is thought to have been issued in celebration of the Ptolemaic victory over the Seleukids at the battle of Raphia during the Fourth Syrian War. Official propaganda proclaimed that these two deities, Serapis and Isis, had intervened on behalf of the Egyptians, saving them from defeat (see C. Lorber, “The Ptolemaic Era Coinage Revisited,” NC 2007, p. 116, and L. Bricault, “Serapis et Isis, Sauveurs de Ptolémé IV à Raphia,” Chronique d’Égypte LXXIV (1999), pp. 334-43).
Thomas Landvatter, in his die study cited above that appeared in the 2012 ANS American Journal of Numismatics (Second Series, Vol. 24, p. 88), suggests that this issue was “carrying a very specific ideological message directed more widely throughout the empire: Ptolemy IV was equating himself and his wife Arsinoe with the divine sibling-spouses Serapis and Isis.” Landvatter also notes that “[t]his was an ideological statement made during wartime, meant to have wide appeal and explicitly associate the Ptolemaic king and queen with two of the most popular deities in the Eastern Mediterranean.” Indeed, the popularity of the Serapis/Isis cult would outlive the Ptolemaic dynasty and continue well into the Roman Imperial period, only to be eventually usurped by the Christian and Muslim faiths.
The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 127 lots will be determined during the live online sale that will be held on 17-18 September 2024. This lot is in Session One, which will begin 17 September at 9 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
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