Details

LOT 0155

Roman Large Inscribed Silver Dish

EASTERN EMPIRE, 2ND-4TH CENTURY AD

12 1/2" (798 grams, 31.5cm).

A broad sheet silver dish with everted rim, low basal ring; pointillé inscription beneath the base 'ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ EVΞP[.]ETOY'.

Provenance

Property of a North London lady; gifted from her father's collection; formerly with a Mayfair gallery, London, UK; previously acquired in the 1980s, accompanied by X-Ray Fluorescence metal analysis certificate number 00932-2018RB.

Footnotes

The text ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ clearly refers to the city of Antioch, the Mediterranean port which developed the spice trade and other commercial links to Central Asia.
In Roman times, Antioch was called 'the cradle of Christianity' due to its role in nurturing the religion. Acts 11:26 in the New Testament asserts that the name 'Christian' was first applied to followers of Christ in that city. It was a metropolis of half a million people during Augustan times.

CONDITION