Congratulations David on acquiring such a
rarity.
Looking at the
Minerva reverse I am taken by it's engaging feeling of solidity. It has a sculptural look of a kind that I am sure I have seen before. The famous statue of
Zeus enthroned that you see on Macedonian tetradrachms
comes to mind. I believe the best of those tets are so convincing because they were derived from a statue that existed at the time, the Phidias
Zeus at Olympia. Made by a great artist it provided design reference points that the die engraver could use as a guide while creating their own low relief
sculpture in miniature.
The casual way
Minerva holds the
thunderbolt is a quiet reminder of her power as a Goddess. Brilliant. I did an internet
search and have a candidate for a model the die engraver may have been aware of. The
Athena Hope-Farnese was found near Naples and is in the Naples Museum. The arms and helmet decoration have been
restored. The second version is in the William Randolph Hearst
Collection.
Athena Hope-Farnese is believed to be a
Roman copy of a Greek original by Pyrrhos of the school of Phidias from the 5th BC.
As the original
hands are missing it is hard to know what she may have been causally holding. An
owl, Winged
Victory or
thunderbolt?
Best regards,
Steve
