Cleveland Museum of Art

Spoon with Saint Paul as an Athlete

Date

350–400

Medium

silver, silver gilt, and niello

Culture

late Roman Empire, perhaps Syria, early Byzantine, 4th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Silver spoons with swan neck handles (ligulae) were popular in the Late Roman Empire. This late antique spoon is unique because it is decorated with the nude figure of a victorious athlete identified in an inscription as PAVLVS (Paul). It is tempting to interpret the juxtaposition of the name with a classical representation of an athlete as a subtle allusion to a passage in Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 9:24-27), in which the apostle characterizes himself as an "athlete of Christ." While this interpretation may imply that the spoon’s owner was a Christian, it does not imply a religious function for the object, which was likely used for display or fine dining.

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