Coin of King Ballaios — Artemis with a torch

Description

A bronze coin of the Illyrian king Ballaios from the mint of Rhizon, today’s Risan. The obverse shows a bare male head to the left — the king’s portrait. On the reverse Artemis strides with a long torch, with the legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΛΛΑΙΟΥ — “of King Ballaios”.

Ballaios is not mentioned in any ancient written source; everything we know about him comes from his coins. The dating is openly disputed: by the style of the coins c. 195–175 BC, by hoards excavated in Risan c. 260–230 BC, which would make him a contemporary or predecessor of Agron and Teuta. Artemis with a torch stays on Rhizon’s coins after the king — she is the image of the Bay of Risan, the goddess also honoured by the Ulcinj altar of Artemis in this collection.

The 3D model was made from two photographs of the specimen (obverse and reverse) in the collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The relief height was derived from the shading in the photograph, so the model is a faithful drawing in three dimensions, not a measured survey of the coin. The photograph is applied to the model as its colour. For 3D printing, obverse and reverse were prepared as separate flat-backed plaques, enlarged 3:1, at true and at emphasised relief height.