Lot 260: Trajan. A.D. 98-117. Æ as. Rome, ca. A.D. 112/3-114.

Trajan. A.D. 98-117. Æ as (26 mm, 10.67 g, 6 h). Rome, ca. A.D. 112/3-114. IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS [VI P P], laureate and draped bust of Trajan right / S P Q R OPTI-MO PRINCIPI, S C across field, Trajan's column surmounted by statue of the emperor; two eagles at base. Cf. RIC 600 (bust); Woytek 474v; BMC 1004-5; BN 784. Popular type depicting Trajan's Column. Red-brown patina. Rough. Good fine. 

From the Charles Darrah Collection of Flavian and Antonine Bronzes. 

Trajan's column, completed during his sixth consulate about eight years after his final conquests over the Dacian's under their king Decebalus in A.D. 106, was an inspiring monument located in Trajan's forum in Rome. A flank of the Quirinal Hill had to be excavated to a height of 120 feet to make room for the forum, and it appears that originally the column was simply a marker of the depth of excavation that was required, the notable frieze being a mere afterthought. 

The column itself consists of seventeen marble drums, each over four feet tall, overlaid with a frieze approximately three feet wide and 656 feet long spiraling diagonally twenty-three times around the shaft from its base to its summit. The action of the frieze, which is continuous and is divided by conventional uprights such as a tree, a wall or a standing figure, shows 165 episodes of the campaign, and includes more than 2500 human figures. It chronicles Trajan's campaigns in Dacia, and is divided in half, the first representing the First Dacian War of A.D. 101-102, the latter the Second Dacian War of A.D. 105-106. Surmounting the whole structure was a statue of the emperor, which disappeared during the Middle Ages but which was replaced in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V with a bronze statue of St. Peter. In addition to providing entrance to the column, which contains an internal helical stairway to its summit, the base served as sepulcher housing the remains of Trajan and his wife, Plotina.

• Offered By: Barry P. Murphy
• Lot #: 260
• Listing #: 237849
• Closed: Thursday, July 10, 2014 6:26:20 PM CT
• Estimate: $100