Bowl with a Medallion Depicting Dionysos and Ariadne

Dionysos, the Greek god of wine, clasps the face of his wife Ariadne. A silenos, a follower of Dionysos, sits on a rock at the right, turning away from the couple. A thyrsos, a symbol of the god of wine, fills the space between the couple and the silenos. Twining grapevines encircle the scene.

The pose of Dionysos and Ariadne resembles earlier depictions of Eros and Psyche. The figures and aspects of the workmanship suggest that this bowl was made in the Near East, probably in an area still or once under Seleucid Greek rule, where Greek and indigenous artistic styles and techniques blended together.

Elaborate bowls with high relief decoration and gilding became popular in the Hellenistic period. The decorated center of the bowl is actually a second piece of silver laid over the plain floor of the bowl. It is unusual to find the bowl and decorated medallion preserved together in this way.