Cheirisophos (Toreut)
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Cheirisophos ( ancient Greek Χ [ε] ιρίσοφος ) was an ancient Greek Toreut (metalworker) or silversmith , who was probably active in Italy at the turn of the century .
Silver mug from Hoby
Cheirisophos is only known today through two artist's signatures on two cups ( skyphoi ) made of silver and decorated with reliefs . Both were apparently worked as related counterparts and were found in 1920 in the famous man's grave at Hoby on the Danish island of Lolland . Today they are in the collection of the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen . Because of the motifs from the Trojan War that are shown on them, they are called the Philoctetes Cup and Achilles Cup. The Philoctetes Cupshows the wounding and the return of Philoctetes , the Achilles cup shows the release of the dead Hector .
The cups belong to only a small number of well-known silver dishes that have been provided with a signature by their manufacturers. More silversmiths are known by name, especially from literary tradition, especially with Pliny the Elder and Athenaeus . The hallmarked signature was very conspicuous and made in the middle of each side of the cup. The Achilles cup shows them in ancient Greek - ancient Greek ΧΕΙΡΙΣΟΨΟΣ ( sic !) -, the Philoctetes cup in phonetic transcription, but not in Latin , in Latin letters : CHIRISOPHOS EPOI (Chirosophos made it). The artist, a craftsman by ancient standards, thus stands out in an unusual way as the creator of the works. Another inscription gives the name of the first owner: Silius . Possibly this is Gaius Silius , consul of the year 13 and from 14 to 21 legate of the province of Upper Germany . The cups were possibly diplomatic gifts to a " barbaric " prince in the north.
Due to the motif, the shape, the way of design and the classicistic style of the early imperial period, the cups are dated to the Augustan period around the turn of the times and their place of manufacture is assumed to be in Italy.
literature
- Georg Lippold : Cheirisophos 1a . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Supplement V, Stuttgart 1931, Col. 58 f.
- Joachim Werner : The emergence of images and writing in Northern Europe. (= Bavarian Academy of Sciences, Philosophical-Historical Class, meeting reports, born in 1966, Issue 4 ), Verlag der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Munich 1966.
- Rainer Vollkommer : Cheirisophos (II). In: Derselbe (editor): Artists' dictionary of antiquity . Over 3800 artists from three millennia. Nikol, Hamburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-937872-53-7 , p. 136.
Web links
- The silver cups from Hoby. In: natmus.dk . (English, Danish).
Single receipts
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cheirisophos |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Χειρίσοφος (ancient Greek); Χιρίσοφος (ancient Greek) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | ancient Greek Toreut |
| BIRTH DATE | 1st century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1st century |