Black Sea Region. Uncertain city. Circa 4th century BC or later, but pre-Roman. A Decorative Circular Roundel or Disc (Gold, 34 mm, 1.79 g, 12 h), intended to be used attached to a fabric backing. A Nereid, or sea nymph, nude to the waist, seated on the back of hippocamp swimming to right; she holds, with both hands, her veil, which billows behind her; below, an exergue formed by a trident to right above a dolphin swimming to left; all within a circular border formed by two linear circles between a further two dotted ones. Rev. As the obverse but incuse. For a similar numismatic parallel cf. Betlyon 349 (a Tyrian shekel with Melkart riding a hippocamp above the waves with a dolphin below). For archaeological parallels see: Christie's 9599, 13 May 2003, lot 150 (a Roman marble Nereid and hippocamp group of the 2nd century AD, copying an Hellenistic original); the Nereid riding a hippocamp on mosaics in the Bardo Museum and the Selçuk Museum (from Ephesos), and on the altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus from Rome; in addition, there are many representations of Thetis riding on a hippocamp bearing the arms of Achilles. Extremely rare. Unpublished and possibly unique. Tiny piercings on the edge and some crinkling, otherwise, extremely fine.
