Caption

Denarius of Boleslaw III Krzywousty (prince of Poland; ca. 1107–1138), ca. 1125–1138. Obverse: in a beaded border, a knight in chain mail thrusting a spearhead into the jaws of an upside-down dragon. Reverse: in a triple beaded border, an isosceles cross topped with balls; between its arms, one ball (one dot on each). Allegorical Romanesque imagery — knight, dragons, fight between good and evil, fight against pagans; references to martyrs and Saint Adalbert. Spear/spearhead iconography. Coin; Poland, Kraków. Diameter 12.7–13.1 mm; weight 0.47 g.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A63_382

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 ca 1107–1138 1125–1138 Obverse beaded border knight chain mail thrusting spearhead jaws upside-down dragon Reverse triple beaded border isosceles cross topped balls arms ball dot Allegorical Romanesque imagery dragons fight good evil pagans references martyrs Saint Adalbert Spear spearhead iconography Coin Kraków Diameter 12.7–13.1 mm weight 0.47 g single round metallic object sits near center white background textured slightly irregular surface raised recessed areas forming central relief standing figure holding long diagonal rod staff wearing garment layered adornments surrounding shapes curved borders suggesting inscribed edge visible colors silvery gray darker gray shadows subtle hints tarnished darker tones bright white background.