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Ecole Des Beaux Arts, Lyon

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France. Copper. Diameter 36.8mm, 19.1 grams. Engraved by A. Poncet (signed below the bust). Obverse: Bust of the Roman goddess Cybele (or Tyche), facing right, COVRS ANNEXES DE L'ECOLE DES BEAUX ARTS around. Reverse: Closed laurel wreath with ribbons APPLICATION, L'INDUSTRIE and BEAUX-ARTS and rampant lion shield (arms of Lyon), with LA VILLE DE LYON A (space for name) withing the wreath. Unawarded. Edge inscribed (bee edgemark) Cuivre.

Lyon was the Roman capital of Gaul and in ancient times was dedicated to the Goddess Cybele, also known as Tyche. Cybele was the Latin name of a goddess native to Phrygia in Asia Minor and known to the Greeks as Rhea. She was the wife of the Titan Cronus and mother of the Olympian gods. Cybele was a goddess of nature and fertility who was worshiped in Rome as the Great Mother. Because Cybele presided over mountains and fortresses, her crown was in the form of a city wall, and she was also known to the Romans as Mater Turrita. Cybele’s name is linked with the words crypt, cave, dome and head. The cubic black stone in Mecca may have its roots with this Neolithic Goddess. Her animal familiar was the great lion, which is one of the symbols used to this day in Lyon.

Item record created Oct. 6, 2008.
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item record in VRA Core 4.0