The Vicarello Goblet

Description

This masterpiece of the Roman silversmith’s art is exquisitely worked in relief. The multifigure scene centers on a rustic shrine of the ithyphallic fertility god Priapus, son of Dionysos. He takes the form of a stylized boundary marker atop a column, where a woman seems to have brought him to life by touching him. To the left sits a table with votive offerings to the god. Flanking the shrine are a satyr and maenad, dancing ecstatically.

Provenance

Sir William Drake, F.S.A. (1817-1890), London, England (1867 or after-); Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934), Paris, France (By 1912); [Auction: Christie's, London, (1966 APR 05), no. 12] (1966); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1966-)

The Vicarello Goblet

[]

25 BCE–25 CE

Accession Number

1966.371

Medium

silver

Dimensions

Overall: 12.2 x 7.8 cm (4 13/16 x 3 1/16 in.)

Classification

Metalwork

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund