Small Silver Plate from Alexandria, Egypt: 7th century AD
Small silver plate (the diameter is only 13 cm) with a gilt Eros or Cupid, the classical god of love, riding the sea-monster Ketos, and holding a trident for spearing a fish. Leaves of the Acanthus plant decorate the rim. The plate was found in Egypt and is dated to the first decades of the 7th century AD, and was probably made in Alexandria. After the end of the Roman Empire in western Europe, Roman luxuries like food vessels of precious metals continued to be made and used in the eastern Mediterranean area.
