Farnese Cup

The Tazza Farnese is a cameo of sardonyx. It has a diameter of 20 cm and is now in the National Archaeological Museum Naples Inv. 27611th It is considered a masterpiece of this genre and as one of the masterpieces of the Ptolemaic- Alexandrian art.

Representations

The Tazza Farnese up on the back of a Gorgoneion dar. On the front you can see on the left the personification of the Nile, which is supported against a tree and holding a cornucopia in his hand. Across from him sit two nymphs, one with a cornucopia, the other drinking from a bowl. In the upper part you can see two flying wind deities. At the bottom is a sphinx and her a woman who probably represents Isis - Demeter. In the middle of the cameo is Triptolemos.

The interpretation and dating of this scene and the object are not sure. Perhaps the cameo was made after a famine in the year 187 BC. The Isis - Demeter would be Cleopatra I. The Nile symbolizes wealth and prosperity, Triptolemos the regained power of the Nile. The Sphinx is the symbol of the Ptolemaic royal house.

History of Tazza Farnese

Particularly interesting is the modern history of the cameo. In the Middle Ages it was perhaps in Constantinople Opel and came after the sack of the city in the 4th crusade to the west. It was owned by Frederick II, and came from there to Central Asia, because in the early 15th century, they must be at the court of the Timurids in Central Asia have been found. From there comes one signed by Muhammad al - Khayyam drawing of the Tazza Farnese, which exactly reproduces surprisingly, the scene of the front. As the Tazza Farnese came to Central Asia is unknown. Mohammed al - Khayyam is occupied for the early 15th century there. A little later she was owned by Pope Paul II Pope Sixtus IV About then they came into the possession of Lorenzo il Magnifico, and from there to the Farnese Palace and then to Naples.