The Chaourse Treasure is a hoard of
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
silver found in
Chaourse, a village near
Montcornet, Aisne in northern France in 1883. Dating between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, the treasure is one of the most complete table services to survive from
antiquity. This important hoard is now part of the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
's collection.
British Museum Collection
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Discovery and ownership
The hoard was uncovered by chance in a field near the village of Chaourse and had been deposited wrapped in cloth. Coins were also found with the treasure, the latest dating from the Gallic emperor Postumus
Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was a Roman commander of Batavian origin, who ruled as Emperor of the splinter state of the Roman Empire known to modern historians as the Gallic Empire. The Roman army in Gaul threw off its allegiance to Ga ...
. It appears that tableware was buried shortly afterwards, during the reign of Gallienus
Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; c. 218 – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empi ...
, although the context of the find remains obscure. While a few of the objects date to the 2nd century, most originate from the 3rd century AD. The names of two people - Genialis and Cavarianus - are inscribed on some silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
vessels. They were probably the original owners of the service, who decided to bury the hoard for safe-keeping. Six years after its discovery, the entire treasure was purchased by the British Museum.
Description
The Chaourse Treasure is made up of 39 objects in total, all of which are silver, apart from five small vessels and a silvered bronze mirror. There are four large serving platters; one of which has the swastika in its central medallion, another has a gilded figure of the Roman god Mercury holding his caduceus flanked by a ram and a cockerel. In addition, there are plain silver drinking cups, various jugs, two large situla
Situla (plural ''situlae''), from the Latin word for bucket or pail, is the term in archaeology and art history for a variety of elaborate bucket-shaped vessels from the Iron Age to the Middle Ages, usually with a handle at the top. All types ma ...
s one of which has an acanthus-scroll frieze, shallow plates, hemispherical bowls (one of which was used for washing hands), flanged and fluted bowls (some with engraved decoration of animals amid floral patterns), some mirrors, an ornate strainer with floral and geometric designs, a statuette of the deity Fortuna
Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at ...
and a pepper-pot in the shape of an African slave-boy.
See also
* Mâcon Treasure
*Caubiac Treasure
The Caubiac Treasure is a Roman silver hoard found in the village of Thil, southern France in 1785 that is now kept in the British Museum in London.
Discovery
In May 1785 a farmer allegedly discovered seven silver objects in a field near the vi ...
*Chatuzange Treasure
The Chatuzange Treasure is the name of an important Roman silver hoard found in the village of Chatuzange-le-Goubet in the department of Drôme, south-eastern France. Since 1893 it has been part of the British Museum's collection.
Discovery
In ...
* Berthouville Treasure
*Beaurains Treasure
The Beaurains Treasure (or Arras Treasure) is the name of an important Roman hoard found in Beaurains, a suburb of the city of Arras, northern France in 1922. Soon after its discovery, much of the treasure was dispersed, to be sold on the antiqui ...
*
Gallery
Image:ChaourseTreasure-BM.JPG, Silver plate with the figure of Mercury in the central roundel
Image:ChaourseTreasure-BM8.JPG, Platter with a six leafed star pattern in the centre
Image:ChaourseTreasure-BM4.JPG, Two silver bowls with ornamented engraving
Image:ChaourseTreasure-BM2.JPG, Various silver cups and bowls from the treasure
Image:Chaourse Treasure -BM.JPG, Silver handled bucket or situla
Image:ChaourseTreasure-BM7.JPG, Two platters beside three bowls and a small plate
Image:ChaourseTreasure-BM5.JPG, Silver-gilt figure of Fortuna
Image:ChaourseTreasure-BM3.JPG, Pepper-pot of squatting slave
Image:ChaourseTreasure-BM9.JPG, Strainer with geometric design
Image:ChaourseTreasure-BM6.JPG, Platter with swastika in centre next to various bowls and plates
Bibliography
*D. Strong, Greek and Roman Silver Plate (British Museum Press, 1966)
*L. Burn, The British Museum Book of Greek and Roman Art (British Museum Press, 1991)
*S. Walker, Roman Art (British Museum Press, 1991)
References
{{reflist
1883 archaeological discoveries
Archaeological discoveries in Europe
Archaeological discoveries in France
Ancient Greek and Roman objects in the British Museum
Silver objects
Treasure troves of late antiquity