HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.

This excellent example of Hellenistic metalworking would have probably been part of a larger silver gilt set, highly valued by the elite of the time. The fine bead and ovolo pattern decorating the rim and the separately-cast handle with lion terminals are typical of the period and can be found in more common examples in bronze, cf. M. Comstock and C. Vermeule, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Bronzes in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1971, no. 444. For an example of a homogeneous Hellenistic set of silver gilt vessels from Morgantina, Sicily, cf. C. A. Picón and S. Hemingway, Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World, New York, 2016, no. 178.