Art Institute of Chicago
Pentadrachm (Coin) Portraying King Ptolemy I Soter
Greek, Ptolemaic; minted in CyprusLinkedCulture matchlcp-2a2803871dfd
- Date
- 285-247 BCE, issued by King Ptolemy II Philadelphos
- Medium
- Gold
- Culture
- Cyprus
- Department
- Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Object ID
- 111016
From the Art Institute of Chicago record
Obverse: Head of Ptolemy I right, diademed and wearing an aegis Reverse: Eagle stands left on fulmen, wings folded Ptolemy II used the portrait of the founder of the dynasty, Ptolemy I, on his coin. On the obverse, the aegis (a magical garment) worn by Ptolemy I alluded to Zeus as well as Athena; it was thought to protect the wearer and repel enemies, and it underscored the divine origins of the dynasty. On the reverse the eagle and the thunderbolt also recall Zeus, with whom, in the form of Zeus-Ammon, the early Ptolemaic dynasty associated itself.
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Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- Gift of Martin A. Ryerson
- Provenance
- Martin A. Ryerson (1856-1932), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.
Linked open data
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- Object type
- AAT300037334
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