The Vicarello Goblet
25 BC–AD 25
Maker Unknown
Greek and Roman Art
The Vicarello Goblet, 25 BC–AD 25. Italy, Vicarello (ancient Aquae Apollinares), Roman, Augustan period. Silver; overall: 12.2 x 7.8 cm (4 13/16 x 3 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1966.371 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. This silver cup was found north of Rome at Vicarello (ancient Aquae Apollinares), probably in 1862.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Metalwork
- Formatted Medium
- silver
- Medium
- silver
- Dimensions
- Overall: 12.2 x 7.8 cm (4 13/16 x 3 1/16 in.)
- Departments
- Greek and Roman Art
- Accession Number
- 1966.371
- Credit Line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Exhibitions
- Silver for the Gods: 800 Years of Greek and Roman Silver, The Twain Shall Meet, Collecting Drawings in England, All That Glitters: Great Silver Vessels in Cleveland's Collection
- Rights Statement
- CC0
- Museum Location
- 103 Roman
Have a concern, a correction, or something to add?
