A PAIR OF ROMAN SILVER EGG-CUPS

CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.

Details

A PAIR OF ROMAN SILVER EGG-CUPS
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.
Each small bowl hemispherical in form, on a flaring ring foot, with lathe-turned concentric rings on the underside, an incised marking on each in the form of the letter "L," embellished on the exterior below the rim with beaded bands centered by a band of chevron, an undulating ribbon flange encircling below
Each: 2 9/16 in. (6.5 cm.) diameter; 64.4 gr. and 78.1 gr. (2)

Provenance

Private Collection, Munich, 1970s.
Private Collection, Basel.
Acquired by the current owner in 1995.

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Lot Essay

The Roman elite would have owned extensive sets of table wares in silver. Some were utilitarian, while others were purely decorative. See, for example, the tomb of C. Vestorio Prisco in Pompeii, which reveals the family's collection of silver, including cups, bowls, pitchers, rhyta and ladles atop the table (p. 5 in Stefanelli, L'Argento dei Romani). For a group of four egg-cups from the treasure of the House of the Menander at Pompeii, see pl. 42b in Strong, Greek and Roman Gold and Silver Plate. See also the set of three cups said to be from Tivoli, nos. 66-68 in Olliver, Silver for the Gods, 800 Years of Greek and Roman Silver.

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