id:			142026
accession number:	1965.552
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1965.552
updated:		2023-08-23 22:03:16.844000

Octodrachm: Head of Arsinoe II (obverse); Double Cornucopia (reverse), 205–145 BC. Greek, Ptolemaic, minted at Alexandreia (Egypt), reign of Ptolemy V Epiphanes or Ptolemy VI Philometor. Gold; diameter: 2.9 cm (1 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection 1965.552

title:				Octodrachm: Head of Arsinoe II (obverse); Double Cornucopia (reverse)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			205–145 BC
creation date earliest:		-205
creation date latest:		-145
current location:		
creditline:			The Norweb Collection
copyright:			

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culture:	Greek, Ptolemaic, minted at Alexandreia (Egypt), reign of Ptolemy V Epiphanes or Ptolemy VI Philometor
technique:	gold
department:	Greek and Roman Art
collection:	GR - Greek
type:		Coins
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Diameter: 2.9 cm (1 1/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	ΑΡΣΙΝΟΗΣ | ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΟΥ
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Mrs. R. Henry Norweb
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Formerly in the collection of Mrs. R. Henry Norweb
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
The small horn around Arsinoe’s ear, referencing the Egyptian god Amon-Re, marks her divine status.

digital description:
On this long-lived series of coinage, Arsinoe II, a divinized Hellenistic queen, wears the crown and veil associated with Hera; a scepter may be just visible beside her neck. The daughter of Ptolemy I, founder of the Hellenistic Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt for nearly three centuries, Arsinoe married Lysimachos, king of Thrace, at the age of fifteen. After his death, she married first her half-brother and then her full brother, Ptolemy II, beginning a long-lasting Ptolemaic dynastic tradition of sibling marriage. Twin cornucopias on the reverse of this coin likely refer to the divine ruling couple, presaged in Egypt by Isis and Osiris, and in Greece by Zeus and Hera.

wall description:

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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	
	page number: 	
	url:		

	Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. <em>Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p.459; Mentioned: p. 459-60, cat. no. 354
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1965.552/1965.552_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1965.552/1965.552_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1965.552/1965.552_full.tif