CIRCA MID 7TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A PHOENICIAN SILVER GILT BOWL
CIRCA MID 7TH CENTURY B.C.
Of shallow form, decorated in repoussé with outlines and details incised, the central medallion with scene of hero attacking a lion, the lion leaping over a stylized mound towards the hero who wears an animal skin and holds a spear aloft, papyrus thicket in the backgound with nine large flowers and eight buds, the middle register with animal hunt, two horsemen and three warriors on foot pursue an ibex, stylized plant and two date palms between, a large falcon overlooking the scene, the outer register with a lion hunt, 11 warriors on foot carrying spears and shields and two horsemen, pursue a leaping lion, birds and stylized trees in between, each register divided by a band of punched dots, a band of larger dots around the exterior, rim folded over, remains of gilding
9¾ in. (24.8 cm.) diam.

Provenance

Private collection, Germany; collected in the 1920s-1930s by the late uncle of the present owner.

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Lot Essay

For a full discussion of these bowls cf. G.E. Markoe, Phoenician Bronze and Silver bowls from Cyprus and the Mediterranean, Berkeley, 1985.

These bowls have been found in Cyprus, and a large number in sites in Italy, the Aegean and the Near East. It has been suggested that this particular example was produced by a Phoenician craftsman working in Etruria. Wherever they were produced they all have scenes reminiscent of Phoenician ivory carving of the 8th-7th Century B.C., and for a similar example, in silver, of the one above cf. Exhibiton catalogue, Die Etrusker und Europa, Berlin, 1992, pp. 333 and 398, no. 470, found in Cerveteri, Italy and now in the Vatican Museum.

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