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SICILY, Syracuse. Dionysios I. 405-367 BC. AR Dekadrachm (34mm, 42.72 g, 5h). Reverse die signed by Euainetos. Struck circa 405-390 BC. Charioteer, wearing long chiton, holding kentron in extended right hand and reins in left, driving fast quadriga left; above, Nike, wearing long chiton, flying right, crowning charioteer with wreath held in her extended hands; below heavy exergual line, [military harness], shield, greaves, cuirass, and crested Attic helmet, all connected by a horizontal spear; [AΘΛA below] / Head of Arethousa left, wearing wreath of grain ears, triple-pendant earring, and pearl necklace; ΣΥ-ΡΑ-[Κ-ΟΣ-ΙΩΝ] behind hair, four dolphins swimming around, EY-[AINE] along lower edge. Gallatin dies R.IV/C.XI, 1 = Scavino 20a (D5/R15) = SNG Lockett 990 = Pozzi 616 (this coin, illustrated in all but Gallatin); HGC 2, 1299; Nantueil 361 (same obv. die); Rhousopoulos 429 (same obv. die). Old cabinet tone, with some find patina, slight die wear and a tiny flan flaw on obverse, some cleaning scratches under tone on reverse. VF.
Ex Vinchon (11 April 1988), lot 299; Vinchon (26 May 1975), lot 2; Richard Cyril Lockett Collection (Greek Part I, Glendining, 25 October 1955), lot 894, purchased from Spink (for £110); Prof. S. Pozzi Collection (Naville I, 14 March 1921), lot 616.
The magnificent artistic flowering in Sicily in the 5th century BC, exemplified by the matchless coinage of Syracuse, originated in times of great strife. When the first colonists from Greece arrived on the fertile island in the 8th century BC, they found competitors in both the aboriginal inhabitants, the Sicels, Sicani, and Elymi, and the Phoenician colonists who established Carthage at about the same time. The social stresses set up by these conflicts prepared the way for the establishment of various tyrannies. Hippokrates of Gela was the first of the well known tyrants, and his son Gelon founded the greatest of the Sicilian courts at Syracuse in 485 BC. By the middle of the century, the situation began to resemble that of Renaissance Italy, where the princes engaged in continual warfare between themselves, while engaging the services of the finest artists and craftsmen of their time. Such fighting required significant amounts of money to hire mercenaries, and the increasing cultural sophistication of the courts encouraged experimentation in all of the arts, including the minor ones – the result was the patronizing of some of the most talented coin engravers in history.
In Syracuse and surrounding cities, the anonymous “Damareteion Master” and the “Maestro della foglia” were followed by their students and successors who proudly signed their work, such artists as Choirion, Euainetos, Eumenos, Exakestidas, Herakleidas, and others. These masters developed new ways of viewing the world through art, breaking the static forms of Classic art and developing new methods of portraying motion and life in miniature. The silver tetradrachm was the prefered mode of expression, being large enough for the expression of free-ranging talents and also being minted in vast quantities to finance the expensive operations of the Greek hegemons. Even more remarkable were the large silver dekadrachms of Syracuse, which have become universal symbols of Greek numismatic art. Despite the emphasis on the great masterpieces, even the smallest of the silver fractions received the attentions of the masters, and the infrequent issues of gold likewise.
Syracuse commenced its silver coinage at the end of the sixth century BC with an issue of tetradrachms on the Attic standard of about 17.2 grams. These coins are attributed to the Gamoroi, an oligarchic body of aristocrats who battled outsiders, and each other, for control of civic and financial affairs. The obverse features a charioteer driving a walking quadriga while the reverse originally bore an incuse square divided into four compartments, which quickly gave way to the design seen below on lot 75, a swastika-pattern incuse with a circle at its center bearing a female head to left. This is certainly the nymph Arethousa, sacred to the spring of Ortygia which provided Syracuse its pure water. These designs set the paradigm for a century of Syracusan coinage, although the head of Arethousa would soon outgrow the confines of the small incuse circle to occupy most of the reverse, surrounded by frolicking dolphins.
The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 129 lots will be determined during the live online sale that will be held on 13-14 May 2025. This lot is in Session One, which will begin 13 May 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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