Lot 69
Ancient Near East, Achaemenid Persian Empire, ca. 500 to 330 BCE. A thick 94.96% to 95.78% silver basin or phiale, a special libation bowl used for holding wine, with a smooth, gilded interior. The lower exterior of the bowl is fluted, with a dense motif that forms a leaf-like or flower-like pattern on the underside. Above that is a corseted neck that flares outward into a wide, smooth mouth with an unpronounced rim. Size: 6.45" W x 2.55" H (16.4 cm x 6.5 cm); silver quality: 94.96% to 95.78%; weight: 323.6 grams
The Achaemenid love of silver and gold was famous throughout the ancient world. Plato wrote of how the acquisition of gold and silver was considered a virtue while Alcibiades, another Athenian, wrote of the enormous wealth in gold and silver that the Persians had. Libation bowls, known as phiale, were used across a wide geographical area - from Greece to Tibet, throughout the ancient Near East and Central Asia. These shallow bowls for holding wine in ritual and ceremonial settings were made from many materials - glass, ceramic, and many kinds of metal. They functioned both as tableware and as wealth - they could be stored in the royal treasury or given as gifts to people they were hoping to influence. Fluted bowls like this one seem to have been inspired by the Assyrian period. Bowls like this one are remarkably similar across the Achaemenid Empire, reflecting a central iconography and artistic style; they were used by the elite across the Empire to signify their membership in a rarified club of powerful people.
Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010
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#133380
- Condition: Slight bending to form. What looks like a very old repair on one side of the rim. Much of the original gilding remains, with patches of dark patina in the non-gilded areas.
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