Vespasian. Æ Sestertius (28.46 g), AD 69-79. Judaea Capta type. Rome, AD 71. IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M TR P P P COS III, laureate head of Vespasian right. Rev. IVDAEA CAPTA, S C in exergue, palm tree; to left, bound captive standing right before pile of arms; to right, Judaea seated right in attitude of mourning. Hendin 1500; RIC 159; BN 490; BMC 533. A lovely example with glossy chocolate-brown patina. We note some minor pitting on the reverse. Choice Very Fine. Estimate Value $7,500 - UP
From the S. Moussaieff Collection, This lot has been officially exported from Israel through the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The elements of the reverse type include a palm-tree flanked on the left by the emperor, with his foot on a helmet, and on the right, by the personified Judaea, seated to right on a cuirass. In the scene, the emperor is representative of the vast power of Rome. His foot on a helmet of the defeated enemy and his large parazonium symbolize the might of the dominant victor. The emperor is drawn on a much larger scale than is the much more diminutively wrought personified Judaea. The downcast Judaea is seated upon a cuirass, which here represents the spoils of her defeated army. Her pose connotes the humiliation of destruction, captivity and exile. This image was designed both as an exultation of the empire and as a warning to any other province that might be contemplating rebellion.