PHILISTIA. Central Mint. Philistian-styled, circa 420-350 BCE. Mʿh = Obol (Silver, 10 mm, 0.61 g, 6 h). Bearded male head to left, three-quarter facing, hair gathered at the back.
Rev. Nude youth, holding whip, seated sideways on a galloping horse and preparing to dismount, perhaps performing the kalpé; all within dotted square within incuse square. Gitler & Tal XXV.3Oa = YC p. 128, Fig. VI.1 (
this coin). Hendin -. Jeselsohn -. Shoshana -. Sofaer -. Extremely rare and of great interest. Slightly rough and struck from a somewhat worn reverse die
, otherwise, good very fine.
From the collection of Alan Irvin Casden, privately acquired from him in 2003.
For the obverse, one may compare a remarkable bulla from Carthage, illustrated by Gitler & Tal on pl. LIV, Fig. 4.7, which shows an almost identical head in three-quarter view (cf. also lots 58-59 and 97 above). The reverse, however, should probably be understood differently: it does not show a rider holding back a passing horse, but rather a youth seated sideways on the horse and about to dismount. On the two specimens known to Gitler & Tal, including the present piece, the details were difficult to discern because of the break in the reverse die. The specimen offered in Triton XXVI (2023), 399, on which the die break is less advanced, clearly shows that the rider is seated sideways on the horse.
The scene probably represents the
kalpé (Greek καλπή), a race for mares in which the riders dismounted during the final part of the race and ran beside the animals to the finish, holding the bridle or reins (P. Veselý, The Dismounting Horseman Scene on Cilician Coins, in: KOINON 6, 2023, pp. 20–50). Comparable depictions are known from various Greek cities, especially Himera and Gela in Sicily, as well as Holmoi and, above all, Kelenderis in Cilicia, the likeliest source of the iconographic influence on the Philistian issue.
According to Pausanias, the
kalpe was introduced as an Olympic event in the 71st Olympiad (= 496 BC), but was abolished in the 84th Olympiad (= 444 BC) (Pausanias 5.9.1–2). Beyond its agonistic character, the race probably also had a military dimension, since it trained skills relevant to the equestrian and military training of young citizens.
