The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 18, 2024
Bowl with Engraved Figures of Vices
1150–1200
Overall: 6.1 x 29 cm (2 3/8 x 11 7/16 in.)
Location: 106C Medieval Treasury
Description
At the center of this bowl stands a female figure identified as SUPER[BI]A (pride). Represented along the curvature are four more bust-length figures: [I]DOLATRIA (idolatry), INVIDIA (envy), IRA (anger), and LUXURIA (self-indulgence). Bowls of this type were likely produced in medieval Germany and widely traded throughout northern Europe. Because of the moralistic symbolism employed in their iconographic programs, it has been suggested that such bowls were used in monasteries for hand washing during penitential activities. More recently, it has been suggested that they served as teaching aids for rhetorical instruction in medieval classrooms.- (Rainer Zietz, Ltd., London).
- Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Middle Ages in 50 Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Mentioned: p. 72-75; Reproduced: p. 73
- The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).
- {{cite web|title=Bowl with Engraved Figures of Vices|url=false|author=|year=1150–1200|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.61