MACEDON. Acanthus. Ca. 525-470 BC. AR tetradrachm (28mm, 17.27 gm). NGC AU 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. Ca. 480-470 BC. Lion springing right, tail curved, attacking bull kneeling to left with head lowered and biting into his hind quarters; ΠE monogram below dotted exergual line / Quadripartite incuse square, the interior compartments granulated. SNG ANS -. Desneux -. BMC -. Apparently unpublished. No examples in sales archives. Of the Archaic Greek coinages, the imagery of Acanthus is among the most striking and influential, depicting a lion attacking a bull, a motif soon adopted by several other cities. Lions prowled the hinterlands of Thrace and Macedon in this era and Herodotus recounts an episode when the baggage train of the Persian King Xerxes's army was set upon by lions during its march from Asia Minor into Greece proper. This particular rendering of the life-and-death struggle is especially powerful, with its yin-yang juxtapositioning of the two animals struck in living high relief.

HID09801242017

© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

To the auctioneer's website