A SILVER REPOUSSÉ ‘SERPENT’ BOWL, CENTRAL ASIA, CIRCA 500 BC-500 AD OR EARLIER

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A SILVER REPOUSSÉ ‘SERPENT’ BOWL, CENTRAL ASIA, CIRCA 500 BC-500 AD OR EARLIER Expert’s note There is no doubt that the present bowl is of significant age, as evident from its extensive corrosion, wear, and deeply developed patina. It has formed part of the Zelnik collection for decades; however, its findspot and the circumstances of its excavation are unrecorded. In the absence of a secure archaeological context or any closely comparable vessel, the dating must necessarily remain broad, while any attribution to a particular region or cultural sphere can be regarded as speculative at best. This is especially true of its defining serpent imagery, one of the most universal and enduring motifs of the ancient world. Finely chased and embossed, the deep rounded sides rising from a broad pedestal foot to a lipped rim, encircled by a continuous frieze of upright ‘dancing’ serpents, their sinuous bodies terminating in raised heads turned alternately to either side, each snake finely detailed with neatly incised scales and eyes. Dimensions: Diameter 17 cm The present bowl’s construction and design place it within a long and geographically extensive tradition of luxury metalwork extending from the ancient Near East and eastern Mediterranean to Central Asia. One of the earliest relevant comparisons is a Bronze Age silver lid from Bactria–Margiana or eastern Iran, ornamented with a serpent encircling a central boss, dated ca. late 3rd-early 2nd millennium BC, 12.8 cm diameter, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1989.281.42 (fig. 1). Compare also an Achaemenid silver bowl, dated to the fifth century BC, 25.8 cm diameter, excavated at Erzincan and now in the British Museum, registration number 1897,1231.180 (fig. 2); and a Cypriot silver bowl, dated to the sixth century BC, 10.3 cm diameter, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 74.51.4562 (fig. 3). The latter is engraved with thirteen birds, a decorative treatment related by the museum to both Persian metalwork and East Greek silver. While none can be regarded as a direct prototype, these objects demonstrate the wide circulation of silverworking techniques, forms, and decorative vocabularies across the ancient world. The continued importance of luxury silver vessels during classical antiquity is illustrated by a Late Hellenistic Greek silver-gilt bowl, worked in repoussé with paired Erotes and luxuriant floral ornament, dated to the second-first century BC, 14.8 cm diameter, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 22.50.2 (fig. 4). The broad geographical reach of this tradition is further demonstrated by a Roman or Gandharan silver skyphos decorated in repoussé with cranes, each accompanied by a serpent, and alternating flowering stalks, dated ca. late first century BC-early first century AD, 15.4 cm diameter excluding the handles, sold at Christie’s New York, 14 September 2010, lot 47 (fig. 5). The present bowl is nevertheless distinguished by its continuous frieze of closely spaced upright snakes, for which no close parallel appears to be recorded. The serpent was one of the most enduring and widely distributed images of the ancient world, variously associated with protection, regeneration, healing, water, fertility, and the chthonic realm.

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