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Questions for study or discussion

Dr. Anne McClanan and Dr. Evan Freeman

https://smarthistory.org/a-chalice-from-the-attarouthi-treasure/

Thinking about context

  • When and where was this chalice made?
  • How was this chalice used?
  • How did the survival of this chalice relate to the shifting borders of the Byzantine Empire in the seventh century?

 

Thinking about this object

  • What materials and techniques were used to create this chalice?
  • What role do materials and techniques play in the chalice’s appearance and the viewer’s experience of it?
  • How does this chalice’s materials and form reflect its ritual function?
The Attarouthi Treasure, Chalice, Silver and gilded silver, 500–650 C.E. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) <https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466136>

Thinking about iconography

  • What is depicted on this chalice?
  • Why do you think this chalice was decorated with these images?
  • How might this imagery have resonated with the chalice’s ritual functions?

Thinking about art history

  • How does this chalice and its imagery fit within the broader history of art?

Watch the video.

<https://youtu.be/2AVRI5MTyVo>

The Attarouthi Treasure — Chalices, Silver and gilded silver, 500–650 C.E. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) <https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466136>

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Smarthistory Guide to Byzantine Art Copyright © 2021 by Dr. William Allen; Dr. Magdalene Breidenthal; Dr. Andrew Casper; Dr. Paroma Chatterjee; Dr. Allen Farber; Dr. Ariel Fein; Dr. Evan Freeman; Dr. Beth Harris; Kalliroe Linardou; Dr. Elizabeth Macaulay; Kathleen Maxwell; Dr. Anne McClanan; Dr. Robert G. Ousterhout; Dr. Nancy Ross; Dr. Courtney Tomaselli; Dr. Nicolette S. Trahoulia; Dr. Alicia Walker; and Dr. Steven Zucker is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.