2019.90: Posthumous decadrachm of Berenike II, Alexandria
CoinsOn the side of the coin on the left is the bust of a woman facing right, wearing a necklace and veil that partially covers her head and is draped over her shoulders, a headband keeps her hair neatly in place. The other side of the coin depicts a curved horn shaped vessel, filled with a grain ear, pyramidal cake, pomegranate and a bunch of grapes hanging from the left side, a sash tied around the middle, small dots surround the border along with the Greek characters: Β Α Σ Ι Λ Ι Σ Σ Η Ε Σ / Β Ε Ρ Ε Ν Ι Κ Η Σ.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 2019.90
- People
-
Berenike II, Greek (r. 246 - 220 BCE)
Ptolemy III Euergetes, Greek (r. 246-221 BCE)
Ptolemy IV Philopator, Greek (r. 221-203 BCE)
- Title
- Posthumous decadrachm of Berenike II, Alexandria
- Classification
- Coins
- Work Type
- coin
- Date
- 211 - 210 BCE
- Places
- Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Alexandria (Egypt)
- Period
- Ptolemaic period
- Culture
- Hellenistic
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/363797
Location
- Location
-
Level 3, Room 3740, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Egypt: Art for Eternity
View this object's location on our interactive map
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Silver
- Metal
- AR
- Technique
- Struck
- Dimensions
- 35.6 g
- Die Axis
- 11
- Inscriptions and Marks
-
- Signed: no
- Reverse Inscription: ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΕΣ ΒΕΡΕΝΙΚΗΣ
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
- R. de Castro Maya, Rio de Janeiro (by 1957), sold; through [M.E. Bourgey, Hotel Drouot, Paris, 18 November 1957, lot 157].. [Bank Leu, Zurich, Auction 28, 5 May, 1981 lot 221]. Nelson Bunker Hunt, Dallas, Texas (by 1990), sold; through [Sotheby's New York, 19 June 1990 lot 109]. [Bank Leu, Zurich, Auction 52, 15 May 1991 lot 56]. Private Collection, California, (by 2019), sold; through [Triton XXII, Classical Numismatic Group, New York, January 9, 2019 lot 420], sold; to H. N. Kreindler, New York (2019), sold; to Harvard Art Museums, 2019.
State, Edition, Standard Reference Number
- Standard Reference Number
- Sv.1114; CPE 896
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, J.P. Engelcke Coin Purchase Fund
- Accession Year
- 2019
- Object Number
- 2019.90
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Descriptions
- Description
-
Obverse: Bust of Berenike II right veiled, wearing diadem and necklace.
Reverse: single cornucopiae, filled with grain ear, pyramidal cake, pomegranate abd ckuster of grapes hanging from the side, left. Horn tied with royal diadem. Border of dots.
Exhibition History
- 32Q: 3740 Egyptian, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 05/08/2019 - 01/01/2050
Verification Level
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu