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According to the first coin in this series, Bellona was supposed to refer to a well-known piece of art. My client asked me to draw more dynamic scene than Jupiter‘s composition. I found “The Chariot Race”, a painting attributed to the Hungarian painter Sándor Wagner (Alexander von Wagner). Like in Hungarian piece of art, in my design the four horses (not the rider) become heroes of the whole scene. Bellona to whom the coin was dedicated, is not the main element of the composition, like it supposed to be…

On the reverse of Bellona, wearing Roman helmet and armor, with a torch (symbolizing victory) in her right hand, enters to the circus on her quadriga. This is the chariot of Mars—god of war. Definitely Bellona is not a queen of beauty. Her face is rather terrifying, like Furies (deities of vengeance) faces.

I made many changes in my composition to make it different from the Hungarian painting. Due to the shape of the coin, the horse on the left has a different leg positioning. The hooves of the horses are protected by hipposandals — predecessors of the horseshoes in ancient Rome.

A shield with Medusa‘s head hangs on the Bellona’s chariot. In Greek mythology, Perseus cut the head of Medusa and gave it to Athena. Athena placed the head on her shield. From then on, the stone-turned gaze of the most dangerous of Gorgons, became the weapon of the gods. The face of my Medusa on Bellona’s shield is inspired by Antonio Canova’s famous sculpture “Perseus with the head of Medusa.”

Roman legionaries are watching the triumphal entry of Bellona. They are identical to each other, like stormtroopers in Star Wars movies. They are ready to kill in the name of their goddess. In the background we see triumphal arch with small inscription “Si vis pacem, para bellum“. This is a famous Latin sentence of Publius Flavius Vegetius, a 4th century historian, meaning: “If you want peace, prepare for war”.

I really love this project. No unnecessary decoration disturbs the clarity of the coin composition…

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The reverse of this coin was inspired by the painting “Jupiter and Thetis” by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, a famous French neo-classical painter. Unlike the painting there is a silhouette of Thetis at the foot of Jupiter. On the left, behind the god, we see a silhouette of Victory, shown not as Roman but as Greek goddess. It is the reconstruction of the famous Hellenistic sculpture of Nike: the Nike of Samothrace (also called the Winged Victory of Samothrace). The whole scene alludes then to the ancient Greek statue of Zeus at Olympia, the work of the famous sculptor Phidias: in his right hand the god of sky held a statue of Nike, personification of victory.

On the obverse: Temple of Jupiter Stator (Jupiter the stayer) according to engraving of the nineteenth century. Background pattern: mosaic of the 3rd century (Pergamon).

About this coin:

Mennica Gdańska / YouTube
“It’s clear that Jupiter has the potential to be a fine coin. We’re not expecting the relief to be quite as detailed and intricate as shown here.” AgAuNews