Getty Museum

Basin with Scenes from the Life of Cleopatra

Date

about 1620–1625

Medium

Silver

Culture

Italian

Department

Decorative Arts

Institution

Getty Museum

This large and elaborately molded silver basin depicts episodes from the story of Cleopatra, the legendary queen of Egypt, and the Roman leader, Marc Antony. Perhaps drawing from Plutarch's history, the artist frames the climactic event of Cleopatra committing suicide in the center, within a circular frieze of the Battle of Actium. The four oval cartouches on the rim represent important events related to Antony: at the top, Antony meets Octavian and Lepidus on an island in the river Lavinus to form the Triumvirate; on the right, Antony first sees Cleopatra when she arrives on an impressive barge on the river Cydnus; on the bottom, a banquet; and on the left, Antony kills himself. Although the basin's design derives from a sketch by Genoese artist Bernardo Strozzi, the high relief of the figures, some of whom are modeled almost in the round, the Mannerist turbulence of the battle scene, and the use of depth and perspective indicate the work of a northern European artist, perhaps one from Flanders. The detail and delicacy of the silverwork of this basin suggest that it was ceremonial rather than functional; it was probably exhibited on a buffet on the most festive occasions.

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