Italy, Vicarello (ancient Aquae Apollinares), Roman, Augustan period / 25 BCE–25 CE
The Vicarello Goblet
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs The Vicarello Goblet as metalwork (Italy, Vicarello (ancient Aquae Apollinares), Roman, Augustan period · 25 BCE–25 CE).
This silver cup was found north of Rome at Vicarello (ancient Aquae Apollinares), probably in 1862.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this metalwork as silver.
The museum's collection notes: 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.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtThe Vicarello GobletOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.