Parthian plate
- Gallery: Room 52
- Culture: Parthian; Early Sasanian
- Made in: Bactria (?); Afghanistan (?)
- Date: 3rdC (circa)
- Object type: plate
- Materials: silver; gold
- Museum number: 124086
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
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About this object
Before you is a striking gilded silver plate created in Bactria, now part of modern Afghanistan. The plate shows a vibrant scene of celebration and myth, with a central male figure reclining on a chariot-like platform, likely representing a deity such as Dionysos. His position and pose may echo Heracles from eastern tradition, blending Hellenistic and local styles.
Surrounding him are two female figures, possibly Dionysian attendants, dressed in flowing chitons and marked by curly hair. The design features two small winged cupids, one pouring from a ewer and another holding a fishing rod. Behind them stands a beardless male figure holding a club, echoing myths of Heracles or satyrs. Above, a tree—perhaps a vine—casts a canopy of grapes.
The plate was made by hammering thick sheet silver, with highlights gilded using mercury. Intriguing inscriptions in Middle Persian, possibly indicating the bowl's weight, were found on its underside after careful cleaning.
This piece, dated to the early third century, bridges Greek and eastern artistic traditions and is a rare example of Parthian craftsmanship, possibly inspired by Greco-Hellenistic models.
See it in person
Parthian plate is on display in Room 52 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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