Bowl

Historical period(s)
Parthian period, 100-300 CE
Medium
Bowl; silver; hammered, repoussé, and chased
Dimensions
H x W x D: 5.9 x 21.8 x 21.8 cm (2 5/16 x 8 9/16 x 8 9/16 in)
Geography
Iran
Credit Line
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1987.144
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
Iran, Parthian period (247 BCE - 224 CE)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Label

The shape of this bowl is a Hellenistic and Roman descendant of the phiale, or shallow drinking bowl with a central omphalos, introduced during the period of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550-331 B.C.E.) (see F1974.30). Most preserved examples of the shape are ceramic, documenting a close correspondence between clay and precious metalware in the Seleucid (305-95 B.C.E.) and Parthian (ca. 160 B.C.E.-224 C.E.) periods.

Published References
  • Ann C. Gunter. The Art of Eating and Drinking in Ancient Iran. vol. 1, no. 2 New York. p. 38, fig. 21.
  • Ann C. Gunter, Paul Jett. Ancient Iranian Metalwork in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington and Mainz, Germany, 1992. cat. 5, pp. 80-82.
  • Michael Vickers. Metrological Reflections: Attic, Hellenistic, Parthian and Sasanian Gold and Silver Plate. vol. 24, no. 2 Paris. pp. 163-85.
Collection Area(s)
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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