Platter with a Peacock
Culture: Roman
Date: 4th century A.D.
Medium: Glass
Dimensions:
h. 2 3/4 in. (7 cm); diam. 17 5/16 in. (44 cm)
Credit Line: Museum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection
Object number: 86.138.726
Provenance: by purchase, the Stark family, Orange, Texas, between 1927 and 1929; by bequest, the Nelda C. and H. J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 1965; by purchase, the San Antonio Museum of Art with funding from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Willson, 1986
Label Text
This exceptional platter stands out among surviving Roman glass vessels for its large size. At its center is a peacock, a bird the Romans considered sacred to the goddess Juno. They admired the beauty of peacocks and treated their roast flesh as a delicacy. Here both the peacock and the surrounding geometric patterns were fashioned by cutting the glass with an abrasive applied with a rotating metal wheel.
(J. Powers, 2019)
(J. Powers, 2019)
On view
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
