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Author Topic: Introducing Carausius's Gallery  (Read 31053 times)

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Offline Carausius

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An Enigmatic Goddess
« Reply #150 on: January 16, 2021, 06:05:50 pm »
Today, I added to my Roman Republican gallery an AR Denarius of M. Plaetorius Cestianus carrying a goddess' bust that has long been disputed.  The bust, bearing attributes of Minerva (helmet), Diana (quiver), Victory (wings), Ceres (grain wreath, cornucopia) and Apollo (curls), has been variously attributed by scholars over the years as the Sabine goddess Vacuna, the Egyptian goddess Isis, and Fortuna.  Who do you think is shown?  The coin, which also has a nice provenance, can be found here:  https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-167769

Enjoy!

Offline Jay GT4

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Re: Introducing Carausius's Gallery
« Reply #151 on: January 16, 2021, 07:47:54 pm »
Beautiful!

Offline Carausius

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Re: Introducing Carausius's Gallery
« Reply #152 on: January 16, 2021, 08:12:34 pm »
Thanks, Jay!

Offline PMah

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Re: Introducing Carausius's Gallery
« Reply #153 on: January 17, 2021, 11:05:14 am »
Great coin and notes.  I, too, find single-diety attributions more convincing.  So many of the "with attributes of" interpretations make it seem like ancient folk must have been walking encyclopedias of myth.  In modern times, we'd certainly find it odd to see an image and  "oh,  that's clearly Groucho Marx, but wearing Stan Laurel's hat" or perhaps "that's St Peter, but carrying St. Catherine's wheel" may be similar.  It is possible something like that was going on, but it seems less probable than a simpler explanation in many cases.   
    Glad you note Harlan.  I think Harlan gets unnecessary flak for the imprecision of some of his dating (yes, technically less historical) and not enough credit for his creativity in his search for a less-contrived contemporary explanation for some of the types.  I always read Crawford's phrase X was chosen at "random" as <I don't have an answer>.  Random is not a particular attribute of Roman public officials.
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Offline Carausius

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Re: Introducing Carausius's Gallery
« Reply #154 on: January 17, 2021, 12:01:03 pm »
Hi Paul.  Thanks for the kind comments.  I agree, this depiction must have meant something instantly recognizable to the moneyer and the Romans that has been lost in the intervening millenia.  As for Harlan, there is plenty of good to go with the not-so-good in his books.  I often find his synthesis of prosopographical evidence very helpful.  He presents good examples of prosopographic method in dating Roman Republican issues.  At other times, I find he jumps through lots of hoops to justify a dating that may not be supported by hoards.  You should read any numismatic work with a critical eye, and Harlan's books are no different.

Offline Carausius

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Re: Introducing Carausius's Gallery
« Reply #155 on: June 06, 2021, 10:32:57 pm »
I've been derelict in posting coins to my gallery lately.  I'll try to make amends with a couple of lovely Imperatorials.  The first, a rare denarius of Julius Caesar and Aulus Allienus, with exceptionally beautiful surfaces, can be found here:

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=170648

The second, a Marc Antony/Sol in temple with an obverse inscription variety different than my previously posted example of the type, can be found here:

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=170647

Both coins have nice provenances, and I suspect the Antony provenance goes back much further than I've found to date (look at the deep toning!). 

More will be posted in the coming days.  Enjoy!

 

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