Bowl with Beaded Rim, 300-500 (silver)

Byzantium, Syria?, early Byzantine period, 4th-5th Century. This bowl was probably intended for use in a private home, perhaps a fashionable villa on the Mediterranean coast. Wealthy Romans stored a variety of silver vessels and implements for entertaining and enjoyed using them while eating and drinking at social events. This bowl is decorated with a beaded rim, a feature often found on domestic silver bowls of this period. The basic shape was formed first by hammering. Then the bowl was polished and chased while it turned on a lathe. The beaded decoration was achieved by hammering the silver into a mold.