Romano-British bowl
- Gallery: Room 49
- Culture: Romano-British
- Object type: bowl
- Materials: silver
- Museum number: 1975,1002.5
- 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 Romano-British silver bowl, its deep form and dished base hinting at both function and artistry. The rim is slightly concave, and the interior base bears the name "Publianus," inscribed with precision and care. Moving your gaze upward, the rim features another Latin inscription wrapped in poetic form: Sanctum altare tuum, Domine, subnixus honore. These words, arranged in a rhythmic hexameter, suggest a dedicatory or devotional purpose, likely tied to a small Christian community. The bowl was part of the Water Newton treasure, found with several other fragments marked with similar patina and construction. Silver craftsmanship of this nature was rare in Roman Britain, making this object particularly significant amid ongoing discussions about early Christian practices in the region.
See it in person
Romano-British bowl is on display in Room 49 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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