Pentadrachm (Coin) Portraying King Ptolemy I Soter

285-247 BCE, issued by King Ptolemy II Philadelphos

Greek, Ptolemaic; minted in Cyprus

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.

On View: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium, Gallery 151

Culture: Ancient Greek
Title: Pentadrachm (Coin) Portraying King Ptolemy I Soter
Origin: Cyprus
Date: 285 BCE–247 BCE
Medium: Gold
Inscriptions: Reverse: ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ
Dimensions: Diam. 2.4 cm; 17.82 g
Credit Line: Gift of Martin A. Ryerson
Reference Number: 1922.4933

Louise Berge and Karen Alexander, “Ancient Gold Work and Jewelry from Chicago Collections,” The Ancient World vol. 11, nos. 1 and 2 (1985), p. 22.
Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 29.
Roberta Casagrande-Kim, ed., When the Greeks Ruled Egypt: From Alexander the Great to Cleopatra. Exh. cat. (New York: Institute for the Study of the Ancient World; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014), pp. 63, 93, fig. 4-6, 4-7, cat. 38.
Theresa Gross-Diaz, “Cat. 22 Tetradrachm Portraying Queen Cleopatra VII: Curatorial Entry,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016), para 14, fig. 22.3.

Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 154A, April 20, 1994 - February 6, 2012.
Art Institute of Chicago, When the Greeks Ruled: Egypt After Alexander the Great, October 31, 2013 - July 27, 2014; traveled to New York City, NY, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, October 8, 2014 - January 4, 2015.

Martin A. Ryerson (1856-1932), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.

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