bowl

Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience.

Object Type: bowl
Museum number: 1925,1008.1
Description: 'Scylla' bowl; bronze; engraved; mythological scenes in medallions; surrounding inscriptions; modern inscription on base; Scylla cuts off the hair of her father Nisus, upon which his life depends, to gain favour of her lover Minos; medallions with scenes of legends of Orpheus and Eurydice, Ganymede, Ceres, and Triptolemus.
Cultures/periods: Late Medieval
Production date: 12thC
Production place: Made in: Germany (?)
Findspot: Found/Acquired: Tewkesbury (near); Found/Acquired: Hawbridge (?); Found/Acquired: Severn, River
Materials: bronze
Technique: engraved
Dimensions: Diameter: 258 millimetres; Height: 42 millimetres
$Inscriptions
Curator's comments: Scylla, daughter of Nisus of Megara, killed her father by cutting off a lock of his hair; she should not be confused with Scylla, the nymph who was turned into a sea-monster by Circe who was jealous that Glaucus had fallen in love with her. The bowl was found with 1921,0325.1
Bibliographic references: Robinson 2008 / Masterpieces of Medieval Art (p.297); Parkinson 2013 / A little gay history. Desire and diversity across the world (pp. 58-9); Weitzmann-Fiedler 1981 / Romanische gravierte Bronzeschalen (2); Robinson et al 2014 / Matter of Faith: An Interdisciplinary Study of Relics and Relic Veneration in the Medieval Period
Location: Not on display
Exhibition history: Exhibited: 2013 28 Nov - 2018 01 Dec, Norwich Castle Museum, Norman Connections LT loan
Subjects: myth/legend; king/queen; classical deity
Associated names: Representation of: Scylla; Representation of: Nisus; Representation of: Minos; Representation of: Ganymede; Representation of: Orpheus; Representation of: Eurydice; Representation of: Demeter/Ceres; Representation of: Triptolemos
Acquisition name: Donated by: Miss Lawrence; In Memory of: Walter Lawrence Lawrence
Acquisition date: 1925
Acquisition notes: Found July 9th 1824 while digging foundations of Haw Bridge. Originally given on loan in 1925, subsequently donated to the museum.
Department: Britain, Europe and Prehistory
Registration number: 1925,1008.1
Conservation: Treatment

Free entry

Opening hours