EGYPT. Uncertain. Circa 1st-3rd centuries. Tessera (Lead, 20 mm, 2.00 g). Harpokrates riding lion to right, holding flail whip over his right shoulder and raising his left hand to his mouth, wearing crown. Rev. Blank. Dattari (Savio) -. Emmett -. An interesting piece with an unusual obverse type. Flan cracked, otherwise, good fine.


Harpokrates, Horus in childlike form, is commonly depicted on the coinage of Roman Egypt, either cradled in the arms of Isis or in his own right, seated on a lotus, or as the Harpokrates of Mendes or Kanopos. All the more unusual is this tessera, however, which shows Harpokrates riding a lion, a scene not featured on the coinage. A parallel can be found on a Roman intaglio kept in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with the added detail of the lion's tail ending in the head of a cobra.