(Copper/bronze/brass) Sestertius of Domitian, 28.20 g.

(Copper/bronze/brass) Sestertius of Domitian, 28.20 g.

Domitian

85 CE

Obverse: Laureate bust of Domitian with aegis facing right; IMP(ERTAOR) CAES(AR) DOMIT(IANVS) AVG(VSTVS) GERM(ANICVS) CO(N)S(VL) XI CENS(ORIA) POT(ESTATE) P(ATER) P(ATRIAE): Imperator Caesar Domitianus Augustus Germanicus, consul for the eleventh time, with the power of the censorship, father of the country.

Reverse: Domitian, draped and veiled, standing facing left with patera in right hand, sacrificing over altar; behind, shrine with statue of Minerva; S(ENATVS)-C(ONSVLTO): by decree of the Senate.

Style/Period: Roman Empire

Domitian's devotion to the goddess Minerva is expressed at its fullest on the reverse of this sestertius of 85 CE (see also 91.152). Domitian himself, veiled in the manner of a priest, pours from a patera or offering bowl onto a lighted altar. In the background is a small open shrine and in it a statue of the goddess holding her spear and one of her attributes, an owl. The name Germanicus, acquired as a result of his defeat of the Chatti in Germany in the previous year, suggests that the offering is in gratitude for his military success.
In the portrait on the obverse, Domitian wears an aegis, a shawl-like garment that is a regular attribute of Minerva. It is sometimes also worn by emperors, especially those like Domitian who are particularly associated with the goddess.
-- Carol L. Lawton

Bibliography: H. Mattingly and E.A. Sydenham, The Roman Imperial Coinage II: Vespasian to Hadrian (London 1926) 283.

Former collection of Ottilia Buerger. Bought from Coin Galleries, August 12, 1959.

91.154

Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890

Roman, Empire, Domitian, aegis, patera, sacrifice, altar, shrine, Minerva