Silver phiale (libation bowl)

Unknown

late 7th or early 6th century BCE · Silver, gold · Greek and Roman Art

This bowl is the earliest of the Museum's traditional phialai with a pronounced omphalos (navel), or central boss; the hollow underside furnished a grip for two fingers when the phiale was tilted to pour a libation. Stylized lotos blossoms are engraved on the gently curving surface of the bowl. The boss, with its collar decorated with embossed animals, was originally covered by another gilded metal layer, as on the adjacent bowl.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 7th or early 6th century BCE

Medium

Silver, gold

Culture

East Greek, perhaps Rhodian

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

The Bothmer Purchase Fund, 1981