The Mildenhall treasure
This hoard is one of the most important collections of
late-Roman silver tableware from the Roman Empire. The objects were
found during ploughing near Mildenhall in Suffolk, eastern England,
in 1942 and were declared Treasure Trove in 1946. Although no coins
were found to give a reliable date, the tableware's style and
decoration is typical of the fourth century AD. The artistic and
technical quality of the silver objects is outstanding, and though
we do not know who owned them, it was probably a person or family
of considerable wealth and high social status.
So far little is known about the production centres for silver
plate in Britain, though we do know about the manufacturing
techniques, as for example, the decoration found on some of the
Mildenhall objects. This is achieved by chasing and engraving,
while niello inlay was used to create black lines on the silver
background. The only examples of gilding are seen on the
dolphin-shaped handles of the round ladles. Much of the decoration
relates to the mythology and worship of Bacchus, the god of wine, a
theme that was very popular on silver tableware throughout the
Roman period.
From the collection of the British Museum
Richard Hobbs, Treasure: Finding our past (London, The British Museum Press, 2003)
R. Dahl, The Mildenhall treasure, with pictures by Ralph Steadman (London, Jonathan Cape, 1999)
K.S. Painter, The Mildenhall Treasure-1 (London, 1977)