The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 16, 2026

Bowl

c. 100–300 CE

Roman, Imperial

silver: cast and carved
Diameter: 23.2 cm (9 1/8 in.)
Gift of Barbara S. Robinson and Family 2023.107
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This solid silver bowl weighs nearly one kilogram, more than two pounds.

Description

This large cast silver bowl features wavy fluting (sometimes called strigilation) across much of the interior, terminating in a sort of scalloped edge and finely beaded border beneath the rim. Within the central medallion are a miniature oblong shell-like object and the punched inscription VERISS (perhaps a name), both slightly off-center. The combination of wavy fluting, scalloped edges, and a shell-like object may allude to the sea, or to the liquid contents this bowl may once have contained.
  • December 10, 1999
    (Sale: Sotheby’s New York, December 10, 1999, lot 317, Unsold)
    in 2000
    Swiss Private Collection
    -2007
    F.A.C. Kunsthandel (Wolfgang Wilhelm), Frankfurt, Germany, sold to Barbara Robinson
    2007-2023
    Barbara Robinson, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2023-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Sotheby's (Firm). Antiquities and Islamic Works of Art. 1999. Lot 317
  • {{cite web|title=Bowl|url=false|author=|year=c. 100–300 CE|access-date=16 March 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.107