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Roman, 1st century
Silver.
AZ050.1: height: 4 1/2 inches (114 mm); 3 5/8 inches (92 mm) diameter; AZ050.2: height: 4 1/8 (105 mm); 3 1/2 inches (89 mm) diameter
AZ050.1-2
Notes:
Each cup consists of an inner liner and an outer casing, which is worked in repoussé. The original silver gilt has largely worn away, and the double handles are missing. The decoration consists of cranes feeding among wheat or sorghum, hunting snakes, a lizard, butterflies, and a grasshoper. On one side of one cup, the birds stand beside poppies.
Although the cups were found in Rome, the are believed to be the work of a Greek craftsman.
Probably from the Villa Maxima at Boscoreale.
Inscription:
Guide marks for placing of handles in Greek letters.
Provenance:
Purchased by J.P. Morgan before 1913.
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