of the richest work, and statues of the gods were the chief objects on which the precious metals were lavished.[1]
Fig. 5.—Greek Silver Vase, 4th century B.C., from South Russia.
The gold used by the Greeks probably came from Asia Minor or Egypt, while the mines of Laurium, in the mountains which form the promontory of Sunium in Attica, supplied an abundant amount of silver for many centuries. According to Pliny, Pheidias was the first sculptor who produced works of great merit in the precious metals; he mentions a number of other Greek artists who were celebrated for this class of work, but does not give their dates. The chief of these were Mentor and Mys (both of the 5th century B.C.), Acragas, Boethus, the sculptors Myron and Stratonicus, as well as the well-known Praxiteles and Scopas. In Pl1ny's time many works in gold and silver by these artists still existed in Rhodes and elsewhere. Among later workers he specially mentions Zopyrus, who made two silver cups, embossed with the scene of the judgment of Orestes by the Areopagite court,[2] and Pytheas, who made a bowl with reliefs of Ulysses and Diomedes carrying off the Palladium. Enormous prices were given by wealthy Romans for ancient silver plate made by distinguished Greek artists; according to Pliny, the last-mentioned cup, which weighed 2 oz., was sold for 10,000 denarii (£350). It is worthy of note that a large number of the artists named by Pliny were natives of Asia Minor; and it is very probable that the Asiatic school of silversmiths had at least as much influence on Roman caelatura as that of Alexandria, whose importance has been overrated by Schreiber.
Fig. 6.—Silver Crater, found in Ithaca. (3¾ in. high.)
The finest extant examples of Greek plate are those found in the tumuli of south Russia, especially in the neighbourhood of Kertch, the ancient Panticapaeum. Fig. 5 shows a silver vase found in 1862 at Nikopol in the tomb of a native Scythian prince. The native horse-tamers of the steppes are represented on the shoulder with wonderful naturalism, and the work is beyond doubt that of an Athenian artist of the 4th century B.C. Splendid examples of goldwork were found in the tumulus of Kuloba, about 6½ kilometres from Kertch, which was excavated in 1830 and found to be the burial-place of a Scythian prince and his wife. The jewelry and plate found in this tomb, which were clearly of Greek origin, comprised (amongst other objects) an electrum vase 13 cm. high, representing Scythians in their native costume, one of whom is extracting a neighbour's tooth, another binding up a wound, a third stringing a bow, besides several silver vases and two gold medallions with reproductions of the head of the Athena Parthenos of Pheidias. In these Crimean tombs are often found golden crowns in the form of oak leaves, some of which belong to late Roman times. The finest extant example of a gold wreath, however, is that discovered at Armento in south Italy and preserved in the Antiquarium at Munich; it bears an inscription of the 4th century B.C., showing that it was dedicated by a certain Kreithonios. In 1812 Dr Lee discovered at Ithaca a beautiful crater, 3¾ in. high (see fig. 6), and a phiale or patera, 9½ in. across, both of silver, repoussé and chased, with very rich and graceful patterns of leaves and flowers picked out with gilding.[3] These are probably not later than the 5th century B.C. Many silver mirror-cases, with repoussé figure-subjects in high relief, have been found at various places; as, for instance, one with a beautiful seated figure of Aphrodite found at Tarentum and now in the British Museum.[4]
- ↑ The gold eagles on the sacred omphalos at Delphi were notable examples of this, see Pindar, Pyth iv. 4.
- ↑ It has been thought that a silver cup in the Corsini collection at Rome (Michaelis, Das corsinische Silbergefäss, 1859; cf. W. Amelung, in Römische Mitteilungen, 1906, pp. 289 sqq.) may reproduce the design of Zopyrus.
- ↑ See Archaeologia, xxxiii. 36-54.
- ↑ Ibid. xxxiv. 265-272.
