Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying King Ptolemy II Philadelphos and Queen Arsinoe II

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

After 270 BCE, issued by King Ptolemy II, reign of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II, 285–247 BCE

Greek, Ptolemaic; Egypt

The front (obverse) of this coin portrays the heads of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II, facing to the right. The back (reverse) portrays the head of Ptolemy I and Berenice I, facing to the right.

The son and daughter of Ptolemy I inherited the crown of Egypt jointly. Following the customs of Egyptian pharaohs, Ptolemy II (reigned 285–246 BCE) and Arsinoe II (reigned 276–270 BCE) married and ruled as both siblings and spouses. To celebrate their partnership they commissioned this remarkable coin. On his coins, Ptolemy I presented himself as a Greek, and specifically a Macedonian, king.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Greek
Title: Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying King Ptolemy II Philadelphos and Queen Arsinoe II
Origin: Egypt
Date: 285 BCE–247 BCE
Medium: Gold
Inscriptions: Obverse: A°E°ØΩN [of the siblings] Reverse: _ EΩN [of the gods]
Dimensions: Diam. 2.1 cm; 13.85 g
Credit Line: Gift of William F. Dunham
Reference Number: 1922.4256
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/4434/manifest.json

Art Institute of Chicago, “New Coins in the Classical Collection,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago vol. 16, no. 4 (September 1922) p. 50-51.
Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New York: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 46, fig. 3.1.
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), p. 93, cat. 39.
Elizabeth Hahn Benge, “From Aegina to Andronicus: A Survey of Coinage at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Historia Mundi n. 5 (January 2016), pp. 206-7 (fig. 9).

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

William F. Dunham (1857-1936), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.

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Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying King Ptolemy II Philadelphos and Queen Arsinoe II

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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.

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