Both sides of an irregularly shaped silver gray coin with relief decoration on each side.
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Within the circle on the left is a man’s head facing right. He has a long beard, with a wreath of leaves in his hair with tendrils falling down his neck. A curved string of small raised dots decorate the border. The circle on the right depicts a seated nude male facing front with his head looking left and splayed bent legs. He has a beard, and long hair pulled back. His right hand holds a vessel to his face. Starting at the top of the coin are Greek characters spaced out along the edge spelling N A X I O N.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1972.127
Title
Tetradrachm of Naxos, Sicily
Classification
Coins
Work Type
coin
Date
461 - 460 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Naxos (Sicily)
Period
Classical period, Early
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303562

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3400, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Greece in Black and Orange
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Silver
Metal
AR
Technique
Struck
Dimensions
16.8 g
Die Axis
8
Denomination
tetradrachm
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Reverse Inscription: NAXION

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
Cahn 54

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Frederick M. Watkins
Accession Year
1972
Object Number
1972.127
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Obverse: Head of Dionysos with long beard wearing ivy wreath to r.
Reverse: Silenos squatting facing holding kantharos in r. hand and resting on l.

Publication History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1973)
  • James Cuno, Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Ivan Gaskell, and William W. Robinson, Harvard's Art Museums: 100 Years of Collecting, ed. James Cuno, Harvard University Art Museums and Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (Cambridge, MA, 1996), p. 102-103, ill.
  • Masterpieces of world art : Fogg Art Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Busch-Reisinger Museum, 1997

Exhibition History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 01/31/1973 - 03/14/1973
  • 32Q: 3400 Greek, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Coins

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Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu