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Both sides of an irregularly shaped silver-gray coin with relief decoration on each side.　

On 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