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Our Top Ten British Treasures
The Mildenhall treasure
The Mildenhall treasure, made famous by Roald
Dahl's children's story, is one of the most
important collections of silver tableware of the late Roman Empire.
The objects were found during ploughing near Mildenhall in Suffolk
in 1942 but were not declared Treasure Trove until 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 is
outstanding, and the vessels were probably owned by a person or
family of considerable wealth and high social
status.
The decoration
found on some of the objects was achieved by chasing and engraving,
while niello inlay was used to create black lines on the silver
background. 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. But the decoration
is not entirely pagan; Christian symbols, in the form of the
Chi-Rho symbol, are also present on some of the
spoons.
The staring face in
the centre of the 'Great Dish' represents Oceanus,
a Roman god of water, with dolphins in his hair and a beard formed
of seaweed fronds. The inner circle, bordered by scallop shells,
consists of sea-nymphs riding a sea-horse, a triton, a sea-stag and
a ketos, a dragon-like
sea-monster. The wide outer frieze features Bacchus himself,
presiding over a celebration of music, dancing and drinking in his
honour.