HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GREEK PARCEL-GILT SILVER BOWL
HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.
Hemispherical in form with a thick everted rim, ornamented on the exterior with a small central medallion of six lanceolate leaves alternating with six acanthus leaves, enclosed within a band of beading, with twenty-six long radiating lanceolate leaves, a flowering tendril frieze above framed by bands of beading, a band of guilloche below the rim, the background of each zone and the guilloche band all gilt
9 1/8 in. (23.1 cm.) diameter; 3¾ in. (9.53 cm.) high

Provenance

German Private Collection, 1974.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 15 May 2002, lot 377.

Lot Essay

This bowl is related to a large group of Hellenistic silver vessels of similar shape, all thought to be of Eastern origin. A number of them are in the J. Paul Getty Museum, nos. 1-16 in Pfrommer, Metalwork from the Hellenized East, Catalogue of the Collections. The present example differs from the others of this period in that the ornament is confined to the exterior rather than the interior. These silver bowls are thought to have served as the inspiration for versions in ceramic and glass.

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