Silver tableware from Tivoli
Buried for centuries, this collection is an important find Tivoli, Mid-first Century BCE
Held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this collection of silverware comprises two wine cups, a trulla, ladle, and six spoons. The cups bear the inscription “Sattia, Daughter of Lucius”, though no other information about this figure is known. While Andrew Oliver Jr, writing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Bulletin in 1965, noted, “The name Sattia is recorded elsewhere,” he also stated, “The owner of this set of silver cannot be connected with any of her namesakes, not even the Sattia, who lived to the remarkable age of ninety in the reign of Emperor Claudius.”
Additionally, the history of the set itself remains enigmatic. It is suspected that the silverware was buried in the area surrounding Tivoli, possibly as a result of the Civil Wars. Most likely, the mysterious Sattia would have intended to return and recover the silverware once it was deemed safe enough to do so, though evidently this never occurred. This area was a popular site for luxury villas, and several centuries later, Roman Emperor Hadrian would himself have a gorgeous countryside retreat here, which can still be visited today. The set itself was most likely designed for both drinking parties and for dining, as it includes a trulla (the small jug with the long spout for pouring), as well as the pair of decorated wine cups.
This small collection of items is suspected to be part of a much larger one, probably comprising some 30 pieces and with a number bearing the same inscription. Items within the collection first came to light at the end of the 19th century, when European art collector Edouard Warick came into the possession of 13 vessels and seven spoons. In 1905, the collection was offered up for sale, and the following year, Mrs Chauncey J Blair gave the items to the Museum of Chicago. It would be another 14 years before the remainder of the set – the items shown here – would find they’re way into the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.