6.4.6 Net Pattern Bowl

Description

Gilded and inlaid with gems, this small silver bowl demonstrates how artistic styles intermingled in the ancient Near East in the first century B.C. Flowers with garnets in their centers cover the interior. Each flower is placed in a pentagonal area, which forms the net pattern of the bowl. Most of the bowl’s interior surface is gilded, but the bands separating the pentagons and four leaves of the central calyx retain their natural silver color for contrast.