Mytilene (BC 412-378) EL Hekte - B68

ca 412-378 BC. EL Hekte (2.44g). Female head facing right, wearing hair-net / Beardless head with grotesque features facing left, lamp at forehead, the hair covered by net; thin square frame, all in incuse square. aVF. Carr coll.

Bodenstedt interpreted the male head on the reverse as a Daktylos or Telchine, both from mythical bands of miners and blacksmiths, sometimes described as having a sinister character (a common feature of mythical blacksmiths - Hephaestus is the exception). It has been suggested that the object at the forehead is a miner's lamp. Six examples noted by Bodenstedt, this appears to be only the seventh additional example offered at electronic auction.