Achaemenid Fluted Silver Beaker with Flared RimNear East, Persia, Achaemenid...
Achaemenid Fluted Silver Beaker with Flared RimNear East, Persia, Achaemenid Empire, ca. 333–300 BCE. A tapered cylindrical beaker raised in sheet silver, its body worked in close vertical fluting that rises from a beaded groundline to a register of arcaded lobes below the shoulder. Delicate chased zigzag and dotted bands frame the fluting at rim and foot, and the wall opens into a broad, everted lip. The underside carries a stylized floral rosette, a motif common to Achaemenid court metalwork. Vessels of this profile served as drinking cups at elite tables and appear among the tribute and banquet plate of the empire, where fluted silver signalled rank as clearly as its contents did. The surface retains a dark toning that gathers in the recesses of the chased ornament. Size: 5" Diam x 3" H (12.7 cm Diam x 7.6 cm H); Area of rim restoration: 2" L (5.1 cm L).
Fluted and lobed silver beakers of this type belong to a metalworking koine that spread from the Achaemenid heartland through Anatolia, the Levant, and the Greek world after the Persian Wars. Athenian and South Italian potters imitated the shape and its vertical fluting in clay and in silvered ware, which is why such vessels are sometimes catalogued under Magna Graecia; the technique of raising a single sheet, chasing the flutes from within, and finishing the borders with a rocked graver is nonetheless characteristically Persian.
The rosette on the underside is the single most persistent ornament of Achaemenid luxury production, repeated on Persepolis reliefs, seals, and gold appliques, and read there as an emblem of royal favor. Its placement beneath the foot, visible only when the cup was drained and inverted, suits the ceremonial drinking of the Persian court, where the act of emptying the vessel was itself part of the display.
Provenance: NYC. collection; Ex. Edward H. Merrin Gallery, Inc., NYC. Acquired from a European collection, 1970’s - early 1980’s.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #73303Scattered black surface patina and deposits. A 2” area of rim restoration, otherwise intact.
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Achaemenid Fluted Silver Beaker with Flared RimNear East, Persia, Achaemenid Empire, ca. 333–300 BCE. A tapered cylindrical beaker raised in sheet silver, its body worked in close vertical fluting that rises from a beaded groundline to a register of arcaded lobes below the shoulder. Delicate chased zigzag and dotted bands frame the fluting at rim and foot, and the wall opens into a broad, everted lip. The underside carries a stylized floral rosette, a motif common to Achaemenid court metalwork. Vessels of this profile served as drinking cups at elite tables and appear among the tribute and banquet plate of the empire, where fluted silver signalled rank as clearly as its contents did. The surface retains a dark toning that gathers in the recesses of the chased ornament. Size: 5" Diam x 3" H (12.7 cm Diam x 7.6 cm H); Area of rim restoration: 2" L (5.1 cm L).
Fluted and lobed silver beakers of this type belong to a metalworking koine that spread from the Achaemenid heartland through Anatolia, the Levant, and the Greek world after the Persian Wars. Athenian and South Italian potters imitated the shape and its vertical fluting in clay and in silvered ware, which is why such vessels are sometimes catalogued under Magna Graecia; the technique of raising a single sheet, chasing the flutes from within, and finishing the borders with a rocked graver is nonetheless characteristically Persian.
The rosette on the underside is the single most persistent ornament of Achaemenid luxury production, repeated on Persepolis reliefs, seals, and gold appliques, and read there as an emblem of royal favor. Its placement beneath the foot, visible only when the cup was drained and inverted, suits the ceremonial drinking of the Persian court, where the act of emptying the vessel was itself part of the display.
Provenance: NYC. collection; Ex. Edward H. Merrin Gallery, Inc., NYC. Acquired from a European collection, 1970’s - early 1980’s.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #73303Scattered black surface patina and deposits. A 2” area of rim restoration, otherwise intact.
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
