Hellenistic Silver Medallion with a Nereid Riding a Sea-Monster

B A R A K AT G A L L E RY Mirror of all Ages and Cultures

Hellenistic Silver Medallion with a Nereid Riding a Sea-Monster - GM.0021 Origin: Mediterranean Circa: 3 rd Century BC to 1 st Century BC Dimensions: 5.6" (14.2cm) diameter Price on request

58 Brook Street, W1K 5DT, London | +44 207 493 7778 | info@barakatgallery.eu 941 North La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles | 58-4, Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

B A R A K AT G A L L E RY Mirror of all Ages and Cultures

Curatorial comment: A Hellenistic silver medallion with a Nereid (Sea Nymph) riding a sea monster. The Nereid is portrayed riding backward, turning her face to the right and tenderly embracing the sea creature with the right arm.

She is naked from the legs upward, and wears armbands and earrings. Beautiful drapery covers her lower body, richly folded to reveal the buttock. Her hair is arranged in the quintessentially Hellenistic ‘Melonenfrisur’ (literally melon-shaped hairstyle), modelled in ridges gathered in an elegant bun. Over her head we can see a ‘velificatio’, a billowing garment used to frame supernatural creatures and often associated with sea creatures such as the Nereids.

The ‘velificatio’ gives an impression of movement and sacrality to the epiphany of the central figure. The sea- monster ridden by the Nereid has the upper body of a horse and lower body of a marine creature, with fins and a long tail. The lower part of the medallion is decorated with a stylised representation of the sea, with numerous waves creating a dense pattern.

The back of the medallion is decorated with an array of elongated buds and darts, with the buds radiating from a central disc.

A particularly close iconographic comparable is a silver medallion with details in gold preserved at the archaeological museum of Taranto (n. 22429), dated to the 3rd century BC.

58 Brook Street, W1K 5DT, London | +44 207 493 7778 | info@barakatgallery.eu 941 North La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles | 58-4, Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

B A R A K AT G A L L E RY Mirror of all Ages and Cultures

Condition Report: The artefact (Hellenistic Silver Medallion with a Nereid Riding a Sea-Monster - GM.0021) is in extra fine condition. Very minor abrasions on the front and back. Occasional light deformation on the edges. Presence of earth deposits in the carvings.

58 Brook Street, W1K 5DT, London | +44 207 493 7778 | info@barakatgallery.eu 941 North La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles | 58-4, Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

B A R A K AT G A L L E RY Mirror of all Ages and Cultures

Barakat Gallery: GM.0021

Archaeological museum of Taranto: 22429, 3rd century BC.

58 Brook Street, W1K 5DT, London | +44 207 493 7778 | info@barakatgallery.eu 941 North La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles | 58-4, Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul