Plate
Silver plate with Mercury scene. Low base plate. The foot and medallion are of the same diameter; the bottom is flat. The walls develop to form a cap with a regular curve. The annular foot is low and; the reverse is smooth. Traces of polishing on the lathe executed after the completion of the figurative decoration: the needle has left a deep mark on the face, in the center, which encroaches on the anatomy of Mercury, while the contours of the medallion cut away one of the ram's hooves and the turtle head; on the reverse, two concentric circles (diam. 2.6 cm) correspond to the fixing of the lathe. The inner part is smooth, except for an engraved line that underlines the rim and the central part. The first delimits the rim (h. 0.8 cm) which does not otherwise distinguish. A recessed moulding between two grooves, corresponding to the location of the foot, surrounds the medallion that has a fully engraved figured decoration. Inside an abstract frame formed by the circle of the medallion on the upper part with two hanging garlands, Mercury is represented standing on a double line of ground. The god is naked, the lower part of the body facing, the torso three-quarters, the head in profile to the right; his chlamydia is passed over the left shoulder and wrapped around the arm. The bare head is styled in short locks. The extended right hand holds the purse. The left hand holds a large caduceus in the groove of the elbow. To the right of the god, on the ground, stands an altar on the sides of which cross two garlands and on which is placed a pine cone (?). To his left, behind him, a ram stands to the right, his head raised and turned back to Mercury. Halfway up, on the right, a turtle is moving towards the outside of the medallion, on the left a rooster is marching towards the god. The two animals rest on a ground constituted by series of short hatching juxtaposed by group of two or three, which one finds inside the strip of ground on which the god stands (where they draw grasses) and on the altar on either side of the pine cone.
Quantity
1
Weight
203.3 g
Length
2.5 cm
Diameter
20.3 cm
Comment
Inv. no. 93 1 1041
Container
Wooden box
Material
Silver
Hoard
