Nomos 37

CIMMERIAN BOSPOROS. Pantikapaion. Circa 380-370 BC. Diobol (Silver, 14 mm, 1.96 g, 6 h). Head of Silenos to left, bald, bearded, wearing an ivy wreath, and with an animal ear. Rev. ΠANTI Head of a ram to left; all within a shallow circular incuse. HGC 7, 73. MacDonald 53. SNG BM Black Sea -. SNG Stancomb 532. Well centered and toned; struck from finely engraved dies of a rich and refined Classical style; attractive golden toning accentuating the ram's vitality. Slightly porous, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

From the Black Sea Collection, formed prior to 2000.

The art of the Black Sea region, usually termed Scythian from the extraordinary finds made in tombs excavated in Ukraine and Russia over the past few centuries, is a fascinating blend of Greek technique combined with local tastes and sensibilities. In many ways, the bald head of Silenos on this coin is in fully Classical Greek style; but it is also combined with a kind of non-Greek flamboyance that gives it a taste of exoticism, which would have been immediately apparent to a contemporary observer.