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Lot 382
Samanids. Mansur I b. Nuh. AH 350-365 / AD 961-976. Cast AR Medallion (33mm, 12.07 g, 12h). Bukhara mint. Dated AH 358 (AD 968/9). VF, toned.
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Live Auction
Islamic Auction 9
Live bidding begins Apr 24, 2025 at 2:00 PM BST
(14d 11h 51m left for internet bidding)
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Description
Samanids. Mansur I b. Nuh. AH 350-365 / AD 961-976. Cast AR Medallion (33mm, 12.07 g, 12h). Bukhara mint. Dated AH 358 (AD 968/9). Obverse margin: bismillah duriba hadha al-dirham bi-Bukhara sanat thaman wa khamsin wa thalath miat hijra nabi salla Allah ‘alayhi
Obverse field:la ilaha illa Allah / wahdahu la sharik lahu / Muhammad rasul Allah / al-Muti‘ lillah / al-malik al-muzaffar / Mansur b. Nuh / Reverse: Royal bust facing left, crowned and armoured, with braided hair down his back; Pahlawi legend xvarrah ‘apzwt - Shahanshah to right and left. Kamoliddin, S., ‘On the Religion of the Samanids’ Ancestors,’ Transoxiana 11 (July 2006), pp. 3-22, p. 13 (illustrating an example in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, still apparently unpublished). VF, toned. Of the highest rarity, believed one of only two specimens known.
The portrait on the reverse of this remarkable piece closely resembles pre-Islamic medallions issued by the Turkic ruler Zik (circa AD 610-8), after his victories near Rayy and Isbahan in AD 617/8. These feature a similar crown, long hair similarly braided and flowing down the ruler’s back, and a similar necklace and armour. The Middle Persian legends are also virtually identical (save that the Turkic medallion includes Zik’s name after GDH ‘pzwt) and even the calligraphy itself is a stylistically close. This seems to have been the prototype for the reverse of this Samanid medallion produced over three centuries later.
The closest match to the obverse, however, comes from a more recent source. In AH 351, the Buwayhid ruler Rukn al-Dawla issued medallions at al-Muhammadiya (Rayy) whose obverse legends are virtually identical to those on this Samanid piece. This includes the exceptional addition of min hijra nabi salla Allah ‘alayhi at the end of the mint/date legend; the only differences are the mint, date, and the ruler’s name and titles. Not only are the legends themselves identical, but the calligraphy on both pieces, both Arabic and Pahlawi, appears to be the work of the same engraver, with the elaborate braiding adorning the name of the caliph al-Muti‘ in the fourth line of the field a particular point of resemblance. The reverse of the Buwayhid medallion also depicts a facing Sasanian-style bust, flanked by the same Pahlawi legends GDH ‘pzwt - Shahanshah seen on its Samanid counterpart. Miles considered that this stylised Sasanian bust concealed a representation of Rukn al-Dawla, raising the tantalising possibility that the portrait on this piece might depict Mansur b. Nuh himself. Kamoliddin notes that the facial features modified on the Samanid medallion have been subtly modified from the Turkic prototype.
Were these two handsome medallions, produced for rulers whose courts were located almost a thousand miles apart, the work of the same medallist? Was this Samanid piece produced as a reaction to the Buwayhid medallion made seven years previously? If so, are we to interpret the choice of its prototype, which commemorates a victory at Rayy, where Rukn al-Dawla kept his court, as a challenge to the Buwayhids? Was the pre-Islamic Turkic medallion of Zik was still familiar at the Samanid court in Bukhara, and its significance understood there? This beautiful and exceptionally rare medallion tells us much about how these important dynasties used and adapted the pre-Islamic past to heighten their prestige within the contemporary Islamic world.
The final winners of all CNG Islamic Auction 9 lots will be determined during the live sale that will be held on 24-25 April 2025.
Islamic Auction 9 – Session Two – Lots 256–529 will be held Thursday afternoon, 25 April 2025 beginning at 2:00 PM GMT.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
The portrait on the reverse of this remarkable piece closely resembles pre-Islamic medallions issued by the Turkic ruler Zik (circa AD 610-8), after his victories near Rayy and Isbahan in AD 617/8. These feature a similar crown, long hair similarly braided and flowing down the ruler’s back, and a similar necklace and armour. The Middle Persian legends are also virtually identical (save that the Turkic medallion includes Zik’s name after GDH ‘pzwt) and even the calligraphy itself is a stylistically close. This seems to have been the prototype for the reverse of this Samanid medallion produced over three centuries later.
The closest match to the obverse, however, comes from a more recent source. In AH 351, the Buwayhid ruler Rukn al-Dawla issued medallions at al-Muhammadiya (Rayy) whose obverse legends are virtually identical to those on this Samanid piece. This includes the exceptional addition of min hijra nabi salla Allah ‘alayhi at the end of the mint/date legend; the only differences are the mint, date, and the ruler’s name and titles. Not only are the legends themselves identical, but the calligraphy on both pieces, both Arabic and Pahlawi, appears to be the work of the same engraver, with the elaborate braiding adorning the name of the caliph al-Muti‘ in the fourth line of the field a particular point of resemblance. The reverse of the Buwayhid medallion also depicts a facing Sasanian-style bust, flanked by the same Pahlawi legends GDH ‘pzwt - Shahanshah seen on its Samanid counterpart. Miles considered that this stylised Sasanian bust concealed a representation of Rukn al-Dawla, raising the tantalising possibility that the portrait on this piece might depict Mansur b. Nuh himself. Kamoliddin notes that the facial features modified on the Samanid medallion have been subtly modified from the Turkic prototype.
Were these two handsome medallions, produced for rulers whose courts were located almost a thousand miles apart, the work of the same medallist? Was this Samanid piece produced as a reaction to the Buwayhid medallion made seven years previously? If so, are we to interpret the choice of its prototype, which commemorates a victory at Rayy, where Rukn al-Dawla kept his court, as a challenge to the Buwayhids? Was the pre-Islamic Turkic medallion of Zik was still familiar at the Samanid court in Bukhara, and its significance understood there? This beautiful and exceptionally rare medallion tells us much about how these important dynasties used and adapted the pre-Islamic past to heighten their prestige within the contemporary Islamic world.
The final winners of all CNG Islamic Auction 9 lots will be determined during the live sale that will be held on 24-25 April 2025.
Islamic Auction 9 – Session Two – Lots 256–529 will be held Thursday afternoon, 25 April 2025 beginning at 2:00 PM GMT.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
