Caption

Denarius, Boleslaw III Krzywousty (prince of Poland; reign 1107–1138). Obverse: in the beaded border, a knight in chain mail thrusting a spearhead into the jaws of an upside-down dragon; under the knight's right elbow a sun, and between his legs a ball. Reverse: in the triple beaded border, an isosceles cross topped with suns; between its arms two balls radiate outward (smaller ones closer to the center, larger ones farther out). Iconography: spearhead, equal-armed cross, chain mail, mouths, knights, dragon, martyrs, Adalbert (Saint), spears; themes: allegories, fight between good and evil, fight against pagans; style: Romanesque; date ca. 1125–1138; place: Poland, Kraków; coin (denarius); diameter 12.2–12.5 mm; weight 0.36 g.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A63_082

License type

Rights managed

Available size

27.0Mb (1.1Mb) / 10.2in x 10.2in / 3071 x 3071 (300dpi)

Keywords

Denarius Boleslaw III Krzywousty prince Poland reign 1107–1138 Obverse beaded border knight chain mail thrusting spearhead jaws upside-down dragon under knight's right elbow sun legs ball Reverse triple beaded border isosceles cross topped suns arms two balls radiate outward smaller ones closer center larger ones farther Iconography equal-armed cross chain mail mouths knights dragon martyrs Adalbert Saint spears themes allegories fight good evil pagans style Romanesque date ca 1125–1138 place Kraków coin denarius diameter 12.2–12.5 mm weight 0.36 g round metallic object textured uneven surface sits centered white background object concentric ridges irregular impressions central raised cross- feature surrounding curved shapes visible colors silver shades gray white.