Cleveland Museum of Art

Bowl with Beaded Rim

Date

300–500 CE

Medium

silver

Culture

Byzantium, Syria(?), Byzantine period

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This bowl was probably intended for use in a private home, perhaps a fashionable villa on the Mediterranean coast. Wealthy Romans stored a variety of silver vessels and implements for entertaining and enjoyed using them while eating and drinking at social events. This bowl is decorated with a beaded rim, a feature often found on domestic silver bowls of this period. The basic shape was formed first by hammering. Then the bowl was polished and chased while it turned on a lathe. The beaded decoration was achieved by hammering the silver into a mold.

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