Parabiago Plate
Ancient Roman silver plate From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Parabiago plate, also known as the Parabiago patera,[a] is an ancient Roman circular silver plate depicting mythological figures. It was found in an ancient Roman cemetery at Parabiago, near Milan, in 1907,[1] and is now in the Archaeological Museum of Milan. The plate depicts Cybele with her consort Attis in a "vast cosmic setting"[2] amid "sun, moon, earth and sea, time and the seasons."[3] At the time of its discovery, it was thought to have been used as a lid for a funerary amphora.[4]
The plate is difficult to date. Earlier scholars tended to date it to the 2nd century CE, because of its classicizing style, but stylistic characteristics also permit a later date. Technical analyses, however, support a provenance in the 4th–5th centuries, even though it bears little stylistic resemblance to other silver pieces from that period.[1]
Description
The plate weighs 3555 g and measures 390 mm in diameter. It has a foot-ring of 26 mm in height. The surface is worked with figures in high relief.[1]
- Center left: Cybele and Attis ride in a quadriga pulled by four lions. They are accompanied by three Corybantes.
- Center right: Rising from the ground is a nude youth who holds up a zodiac ring surrounding Aion, wearing a chiton and holding a sceptre.[5]
- Far right center: A snake twines around an obelisk or gnomon.[6]
- Upper left: The Sun rising in his chariot, preceded by the winged, torch-bearing morning star, Phosphorus.
- Upper right: The Moon setting in her chariot (biga), preceded by the evening star, Hesperus, also winged and carrying a torch.
- Lower center: Four erotes representing the seasons hover above Oceanus and Tethys.
- Lower left: Two river nymphs.
- Lower right: Tellus, with two erotes who point toward Cybele. Above the head of Tellus is a small grasshopper and a lizard.
Footnotes
- However, it is a ‘plate’, not a patera.
References
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