Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 122 15-16 Jun 2021
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Thessaly, Larissa. Silver Drachm (6.07 g), ca. 356-342 BC. Head of the nymph Larissa facing slightly left, hair bound in ampyx. Reverse: ΛAPIΣ-AIΩN, horse standing right, preparing to roll. Lorber phase L-III, 38-60; BCD Thessaly II 317-9. NGC grade AU; Strike: 5/5, Surface: 5/5. Estimated Value $2,000 - UP
The use of the three-quarter facing head on this popular series of Larissean drachms seems to reflect a larger artistic trend in the fourth century BC, set off by the famous depiction of Arethusa by Kimon introduced for Syracusan tetradrachms in ca. 406-400 BC. The representation of Larissa here is very similar to Kimon's Arethusa, which began a three-quarter facing head fashion for deities at many Greek cities, including Ainos, Rhodes, Kroton, Herakleia in Lucania, and others. At the same time, while the obverse type indicates the connection of the city of Larissa to the wider Greek world, the reverse type is very local and distinctively Thessalian in its emphasis on the horse. Unlike much of mainland Greece, which is broken up by mountains and not especially suitable for raising horses in large numbers, Thessaly was a great plain where horse husbandry and horsemanship were cultivated by the elites of all of the Thessalian cities.
Purchased privately from Bruce Lorich, 29 November 1993.
The use of the three-quarter facing head on this popular series of Larissean drachms seems to reflect a larger artistic trend in the fourth century BC, set off by the famous depiction of Arethusa by Kimon introduced for Syracusan tetradrachms in ca. 406-400 BC. The representation of Larissa here is very similar to Kimon's Arethusa, which began a three-quarter facing head fashion for deities at many Greek cities, including Ainos, Rhodes, Kroton, Herakleia in Lucania, and others. At the same time, while the obverse type indicates the connection of the city of Larissa to the wider Greek world, the reverse type is very local and distinctively Thessalian in its emphasis on the horse. Unlike much of mainland Greece, which is broken up by mountains and not especially suitable for raising horses in large numbers, Thessaly was a great plain where horse husbandry and horsemanship were cultivated by the elites of all of the Thessalian cities.
Purchased privately from Bruce Lorich, 29 November 1993.