Caption

Denarius, Boleslaw III Krzywousty (prince of Poland; 1086–1138). Obverse: in a beaded border, a knight in chain mail thrusting a spearhead into the jaws of an upside-down dragon; a ball under the knight's right elbow. Reverse: in a triple beaded border, an isosceles cross topped with balls, a ball at the intersection of the arms; radiating balls between the arms (smaller near the center, larger ones—three of them with one dot). Allegorical Romanesque imagery of knights, martyrs, dragons; themes of fight between good and evil and fight against pagans; possible reference to Saint Adalbert. Issue mark: spearhead. Date: ca. 1125–1138. Place: Kraków, Poland. Coin (denarius). Diameter: 12.1–12.5 mm. Weight: 0.46 g.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A64_231

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 1086–1138 Obverse beaded border knight chain mail thrusting spearhead jaws upside-down dragon ball under knight's right elbow Reverse triple beaded border isosceles cross topped balls ball intersection arms radiating balls smaller near center larger ones three them dot Allegorical Romanesque imagery knights martyrs dragons themes fight good evil pagans possible reference Saint Adalbert Issue mark Date ca 1125–1138 Place Kraków Coin denarius Diameter 12.1–12.5 mm Weight 0.46 g round metallic object textured worn surface sits white background object silver-gray darker gray shadows lighter highlights raised irregular patterns relief shapes suggesting figures curved lines across face.