📯👑📯A late Sasanian silver bowl with the Great King * SHAPUR * a banquet with musicians, late 6th century
Description
Inner part of a two-piece bowl with high quality chasing work. The outer, smooth part, which covered the cavities created by chasing on the underside of the inner part, is not preserved. In the centre, the crowned Great King with beard and long curly hair, sitting with his feet folded underneath him on a throne flanked in front by rams. The crown with stepped circlet, the central pommel flanked by wings and fluttering bands at the sides. The pleating of the upper part of the robe and the trousers finely wrought, as well as the straps of the sandal on the left leg, positioned in front. The fabric over the hips with vertical decorative rows of circles, triangles and diamonds. Circular, decorative pieces with flowers on the shoulder. A chain draped crosswise over the chest, with a central medallion depicting a griffin. The left hand, bent downwards, holding the hilt of the sword lying horizontally over the left thigh. The right hand, bent upwards, holds a drinking bowl with spread fingers, into which a maidservant is pouring a drink with a jug. From the other side, a second maidservant approaches, serving a bird on a tray. In front of the throne, another tray with two boars' heads and, in front of this, a tray with a pyramid of round fruits or pastries.
Above the king, two winged female genii float with fluttering robes, each draped over one shoulder, with garlands in their hands. In the foreground, four female musicians, from left to right: a standing flute player, then, with legs folded under, a harpist, a lute player and a woman with a tambourine. The maidservants and musicians are all barefoot. Their robes and elaborate hairstyles with chignon on the crown of the head are painstakingly elaborated with numerous details. A rapport of heart-shaped leaves bordered by two incised lines in the margin.
Despite its strict stylisation, the composition appears decidedly animated. The well-proportioned bodies and the finely modelled faces of all the protagonists lend the scene a solemn atmosphere yet, at the same time, a sensual aura. A masterpiece of Sasanian silver toreutics with a rarely encountered complexity of the depicted motifs and the highest artistic quality.
Dark, slightly spotty patina. Light incrustations and minimal traces of oxidation, especially on the chiselled edges of the figures. The interplay of these factors on the surface gives the object the charm of a dignified antiquity.
Diameter 38.3 cm. Height 7 cm. Weight 1935 g. Includes the results of an alloy analysis carried out by the Curt-Engelhorn-Zentrum Archäometrie, Mannheim by means of portable XRF.
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