BRUTTIUM. Caulonia. Late 6th century BC. AR stater or nomos (30mm, 8.60 gm, 12h). NGC MS S 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. KAVΛ, full-length figure of nude Apollo advancing right, torso turned facing, olive branch in raised right hand, small winged figure (daemon) atop extended left arm, running right and holding branch in each hand; stag standing right, head reverted, in right field, guilloche border / Incuse of obverse, reversed and without ethnic, save for olive branch and daemon which are in relief; striated border on incuse band. Noe 2. SNG ANS 141. A breathtaking example with flashes of rainbow toning on a magnificent flan. From the Penn Collection. Ex Ponterio & Associates, Sale 80 (29 March 1996), lot 141 Caulonia was founded in the 7th century BC by Achaean Greeks, either emigres from the homeland or from the nearby city of Croton. The location, on the underside of Italy's "toe" on a headland jutting out into the sea, has in the centuries since disappeared beneath the waves, but underwater archaeology has located more than 100 fluted columns and two spectacular mosaics, both depicting dragons, dating to the 5th-4th centuries BC. The columns were likely for a large shrine to Apollo, the deity depicted on the city's beautiful and intriguing coinage. On this magnificent piece, Apollo's entire nude body is shown in refined Archaic form, striding to the right, with a small winged daemon on his left arm; to his right stands a stag, sacred to both Apollo and his sister Artemis. The unusual fabric of this piece follows a style peculiar to Greek southern Italy in the archaic period - broad, thin flan, obverse depicted in relief, reverse repeating the obverse motif but in negative relief, or incuse, and reversed. Creating such coins required a high degree of technical skill and quality control. The reasons for the popularity of this fabric are poorly understood; some scholars have postulated a connection to the mathematician-philosopher Pythagoras, who was active in Italy during this period and taught a creed that stressed the duality of mankind's nature and all existence.

HID09801242017

© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

To the auctioneer's website