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Goblet with relief decoration
Roman
Imperial
mid-1st century A.D.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), Sudan, Meroe (Beg. North), Pyramid Beg. N 2
Medium/Technique
Silver; remains of gilding
Dimensions
Height x diameter: 9.8 x 8.8 cm (3 7/8 x 3 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number24.971
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsVessels
The Romans, emulating the Hellenistic Greeks, re-garded vessels and implements made of gold and silver as the highest form of tableware. Often acquired in sets, these opulent objects were used for eating and drinking on formal occasions, but they also served to impress visitors to the house with the wealth and re-finement of the homeowners. This cup belongs to the most highly prized category of silver drinking vessels, decorated with figures raised in relief by hammering, a technique known as repoussé. Prevalent in Italy, such items also circulated around the Roman Empire and beyond its borders through trade and gift exchanges; this precious vessel was excavated by archaeologists in the context of a royal grave at Meroë (in modern Sudan), the capital of the Nubian kings. Probably crafted by a silversmith in a workshop in Rome, it may have arrived at faraway Meroë with an expedition sent by the emperor Nero in A.D. 61.
The specific interpretation of the scene running around the cup's exterior, which represents some sort of judgment, has challenged scholars. Because the toga-clad figure enthroned on an elevated dais bears a physical resemblance to Augustus, Rome's first em-peror, some have read the scene either as a depiction of a now uncertain historical event or as a political allegory of Rome's dominance over Egypt, personified by the pleading woman with two small children cling-ing to her. A more probable interpretation treats the scene as reflecting a theatrical staging of a well-known myth in which the Corinthian king Kreon orders the sorceress Medea and her offspring into exile; as such, it testifies to the extensive influence of Greek drama on Roman domestic art.
The specific interpretation of the scene running around the cup's exterior, which represents some sort of judgment, has challenged scholars. Because the toga-clad figure enthroned on an elevated dais bears a physical resemblance to Augustus, Rome's first em-peror, some have read the scene either as a depiction of a now uncertain historical event or as a political allegory of Rome's dominance over Egypt, personified by the pleading woman with two small children cling-ing to her. A more probable interpretation treats the scene as reflecting a theatrical staging of a well-known myth in which the Corinthian king Kreon orders the sorceress Medea and her offspring into exile; as such, it testifies to the extensive influence of Greek drama on Roman domestic art.
DescriptionExquisitely crafted and unusually well preserved silver goblet with a judgement scene in raised relief. The subject has been interpreted in various ways by scholars. Whether the scene is a mythological judgement scene, or a historical one, it shows all the elements and participants of a real Roman court: the raised tribunal, the sella curulis – the typical insignia of a Roman magistrate –, the judge himself, clad in the toga, the executioner with his axe and two litigants.
The scene: A Roman emperor with features resembling Augustus, clad in a toga, sits on a throne, while a man in a sleeveless tunic approaches him holding an axe with long handle. A woman turns to both figures with her arms upraised in a gesture of appeal, as two small children cling to her robe. Behind the woman is a striding man, dressed in a tunic and hooded coat. The scene has been interpreted as an allegory showing Augustus as the new pharaoh of Egypt, personified by the woman; as a judgement scene in which the woman has been comdemned and is about to be executed; as a representation of the legend of Bocchoris; as the judgment of King Creon from the Medea of Euripides; and even as an image of King Solomon. This goblet may have been seized by the Meroites in a military raid on Aswan in 24 BC.
The scene: A Roman emperor with features resembling Augustus, clad in a toga, sits on a throne, while a man in a sleeveless tunic approaches him holding an axe with long handle. A woman turns to both figures with her arms upraised in a gesture of appeal, as two small children cling to her robe. Behind the woman is a striding man, dressed in a tunic and hooded coat. The scene has been interpreted as an allegory showing Augustus as the new pharaoh of Egypt, personified by the woman; as a judgement scene in which the woman has been comdemned and is about to be executed; as a representation of the legend of Bocchoris; as the judgment of King Creon from the Medea of Euripides; and even as an image of King Solomon. This goblet may have been seized by the Meroites in a military raid on Aswan in 24 BC.
ProvenanceFrom Meroe, North Cemetery, in the debris of Pyramid Beg. N 2. 1922: excavated by the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of Sudan.; 1924: received by the MFA.