Hadrianic coins, in all three metals, give very strong evidence of the character, at least the traits, of the cult stantue of
Concordia at
Rome. Though
Concordia does not always lean on the
head of
Spes, and indeed on some the latter stands on a support behind the throne, and the
cornucopiae beneath the throne is on some omitted, counting only the listings where
Spes is present (see
RIC II, p. 494), there are more than seems practical to list here. Almost seven years ago, I saw such a
Spes far away on a
reverse at
Pautalia, for which see below (its condition is no one’s idea of a COTD).
Though mostly marked ‘C’ the
denarii don’t come up every day, and AV and
aes both are beyond my means.
More important, I have my own reasons, as an art historian, for honoring
Hadrian. He may not have been a paragon as a husband by the norms of daytime television, and he and
Sabina were not so handsome as
Antoninus Pius and
his family or so glamorous as
Julia Titi and her
circle, but
Sabina’s
portraits are arguably a high-water mark in Imperial portraiture, considered for combining ideal form (not the same as flattery or ‘formalism’) with rigorous adherence to actual structure and features. The best of her coins like her best
portraits (such as that in the
Mus. Naz. Romano (once “Terme”), illustrated fig. 106 in
Donald Strong’s
Roman Art = D.
Kleiner,
Roman Sculpture, fig. 206) bear out this judgment.
So, a month early, I gave myself a birthday present: a
portrait die of
Sabina as
good as on an
aureus, and in better condition than any other coin that I have. And on the
reverse is my
Concordia.
It is such a shame to limit one’s notion of Hadrianic art to the Antinoos
statues, though they certainly are
part of the picture. Arguably, in her
portraits Hadrian honored
his empress more nobly than
his young friend.
• 30 05 07 AR
denarius 3.47g
axis 6:30h
Rome.
Sabina, draped
bust to r.
SABINA AVGVSTA HADRIANI AVG PP.
Rev, Concordia std. on throne with
Spes as
arm rest, holding
patera (
phiale mesomphalos) in her outstretched r. hand. CONCOR DIA
AVG. "
Rome, 128-c. 137, BM-895, C-12, RIC-398...Cornucopia beneath throne". The descr. is initialed cc.
As for the
Geta at
Pautalia, I
still cannot be more certain of its listing in
Ruzicka:
• 07
XII 00
AE30
Pautalia,
Thrace.
Geta, laureate
head or
bust to r.
AVT K P
SEP TIM
GETA SEB or KAI (so well as I can see).
Rev., Kybele*wearing
kalathos enthroned to l., holding figure of
Nike in her r. and
cornucopiae in
crook of her l.; behind her, on a pedestal, the canonical
type of
Elpis to l. OVLPIAS PAVTALI and in
exergue AS. All sigmas lunate.
* The divinity is perh. rather the City
Tyche acc. by
Elpis, far likelier to hold a
Nike than
Cybele is. And the coin may be
Ruzicka’s no. 893. It is not illustrated in
Varbanov’s
vol. II (Bulg.), and, given the uncertain
identification, I cannot find it there with any confidence.
In The Cult Images of Imperial
Rome, 1987, fig. 62,
Cornelius Vermeule illustrates the
Concordia from a
sestertius of
Sabina but without the
obverse and without spelling out the legends. I cannot really say how the image at
Pautalia may be related to that in
Rome. For the
Type,
Vermeule recommends Aelius's
aureus of AD 137, which probably does have an
RIC number, just for starters, but this volume of what seem to be museum lectures doesn't give any. Probably
RIC p 393, no. 443. BM, but I don't have
vol. III.
Pat L.