Catalog
Bronze with attacking Griffin
| Issuer | Carnutes |
|---|---|
| Year | 40 BC - 30 BC |
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| Reference(s) | DT#2465, LT#7064 |
| Obverse description | Stylized head facing left, rendered in the schematic Celtic artistic tradition with bold, simplified facial features. The hair is depicted in a structured, ridged arrangement typical of late Gaulish coinage. The portrait is set within a beaded border, occupying the central field. The treatment of the eye and jaw reflects the abstract naturalism characteristic of Carnutes tribal coinage of the late La Tène period. The legend PIXTILO appears in the field, referencing a local magistrate or issuing authority. |
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| Reverse description | A griffin advancing or attacking to the right, depicted with outstretched wings and forelegs raised in an aggressive posture, rendered in a bold and angular Celtic style. The creature's body is schematically detailed, with a prominent beak, swept-back wings, and a curving tail. The design fills the central field with dynamic energy characteristic of late Gaulish bronze coinage. The composition is set within a beaded border. No legend appears on the reverse. |
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| Additional information |
The Carnutes occupied the territory around modern Chartres and Orléans — the same tribe whose druids, according to Caesar, held annual assemblies at a sacred site considered the geographic center of Gaul. Their prolonged resistance during the Gallic Wars culminated in the massacre at Cenabum in 52 BC, one of the triggers for Vercingetorix's broader uprising. This bronze was struck in the decades immediately following Roman pacification, a period when surviving Gaulish tribes retained enough autonomy to continue issuing coinage but under increasing fiscal and political pressure from the new provincial administration.