The Vicarello Goblet
Unknown Artist
25 BCE–25 CE
Medium
silver
Dimensions
12.2 × 7.8 cm
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1966.371
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
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.