Seleucia Pieria

1/4 Mina

Copper alloy (bronze or brass)

Cast

Square

7.30 cm (2.875 inch)

7.14 cm (2.8125 inch)

0.64 cm (0.25 inch)

Mass (g)	Mass (grain)	Date of measurement	Reference	fragmented	cleaned	reference weight
109.81	1694.7002	-	www.getty.edu	No	No	Yes

Symbol	Technique	Direction	Position	Number	Synecdoche
Prow	Relief
Anchor	Relief
Lattice pattern	Relief

True and Hamma 1994: Hellenistic, first half of second century B.C. Bronze; H: 7.3 cm; w: 7.1 cm; Depth: 0.7 cm; Weight: 109.8 g (Tetarton = Quarter Mina of Seleucia Piereiae). Condition: Rather crusty olive green and black patina. The weight is an approximately square plaque. On the obverse a ship’s prow is shown in relief withina molded frame. The vessel is a warship with rams and bow ornament. An unclear trace in the field above may be an anchor. The piece is inscribed ΣΕΛΕΥΚΕΙΟΝ (of the inhabitants of Seleucia) above the ship and ΤΕΤΑΡΤΟΝ (tetarton) below. The reverse is decorated with a precise network pattern. The piece is similar in lettering, square network design, and framing to the other bronze weights from Seleucia in the Fleischman collection (see cat. nos. 94, 95).
Getty Museum: As the port city of Antioch, the capital of the immense Seleucid empire, Seleucia Pieria had a constant flow of trade and commerce. More weights survive from Seleucia Pieria than from Antioch, testifying to the economic importance of this harbor city to the empire. The inscription "Seleukeion" above the ship's prow indicates that this was an official weight of Seleucia Pieria, used as a standard against which other weights could be checked. The lower inscription gives the weight of the piece as a tetarton, a quarter of a mina, the basic unit of weight used in the Seleucid Empire at this time. An unclear trace in the background may be an inverted anchor, a common Seleucid dynastic emblem. Yet, for all the importance of Seleucia Pieria as a port, it is not a merchant ship decorating this weight, but a warship with rams and a bow ornament. Little is known of the Seleucid navy. Treaties with the Romans indicate that Antiochus III, who ruled from 223 to 187 B.C., certainly maintained a substantial fleet in the Mediterranean and his successor Seleukos IV, who ruled from 187 to 175 B.C., used a similar prow of a warship as a symbol on some of his coinage.

No

Language	Technique	Legend type
Greek	Relief	Denomination, Mint

Σελεύκε[ιο]ν | τέταρτο̣ν̣.

GREEK

FROM -250 TO -1

According to Seyrig 1946–48, p. 45–46: 301–187/6 BCE; Getty: First half of 2nd century B.C.

Name	Date of acquisition	Inventory number
Fleischman Collection	Dec. 31, 1990	F236
Getty Museum – Getty Villa (Malibu)	Dec. 31, 1996	96.AC.144

Reference	Page/Column	Reference (number)	Plate / Figure	Comment
True and Hamma 1994	202–203	96	None	None
Getty Museum 1997–98	65
Tekin 2025a	None	None	fig. 27	None

http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/29627/unknown-maker-weight-with-ship's-prow-greek-seleucid-first-half-of-2nd-century-bc/