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Drachm (Coin) Depicting the Goddess Nike

A work made of silver.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of silver.

Date:

216-203 BCE

Artist:

Greek; minted in Bruttium, Italy

About this artwork

The front (obverse) of this coin depicts the goddess Nike facing to the right. On the back (reverse) is the god Pan, holding a spear and a staff, crowning himself.

When the Romans conquered the Italian Peninsula, the Bruttii, the native occupants of the “toe” of Italy, were allowed to issue their own coins until 203 BCE when the Romans closed the mints. This is one of the last coins issued by the city. The image of the winged goddess Nike was a favorite of the Bruttii, but a profile face of Nike is rare because of the difficulty in rendering the goddess’s trademark wings. Here the artist daintily tucked them on either side of her throat.

Status

On View, Gallery 151

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Greek

Title

Drachm (Coin) Depicting the Goddess Nike

Place

Sant'Eufemia Vecchia di Lamezia Terme (Minted in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

216 BCE–203 BCE

Medium

Silver

Inscriptions

Reverse: (ΒΡ) ΕΤΤΙΩΝ

Dimensions

Diam.: 1.9 cm (3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. William Nelson Pelouze

Reference Number

1923.1135

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/9666/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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