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Both sides of an irregularly shaped silver-gray coin with relief decoration on each side.　

On the side of the coin on the left is a bearded man crowned in ivy reclining on the back of a donkey facing right. His naked torso is three quarters facing, flowing clothing drapes his lower body, with a cup in right hand, surrounded by a border of small dots. The other side of the coin depicts a vine within a square. Surrounding the outside of the square are the Greek characters: M E N D A I O N.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1972.125
Title
Tetradrachm of Mende, Macedonia
Classification
Coins
Work Type
coin
Date
440 BCE-420 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Macedonia, Mende (Macedonia)
Period
Classical period, High
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/195541

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
16.6 g
Die Axis
7
Denomination
tetradrachm
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Obverse Inscription: NIS
  • Reverse Inscription: MENDAION

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
Noe 93

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Frederick M. Watkins
Accession Year
1972
Object Number
1972.125
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Obverse: Drunken Dionysos (or Hephaistos?) reclining on the back of a donkey walking to r. He is bearded, crowned with ivy, his naked torso in three quarter facing, a himation draped around his lower body, he holds a kantharos in his r. hand. Border of dots.
Reverse: vine within a linear square. Around name of the city in incuse square.

Publication History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1973)

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

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