Sideboard dish

This dish is decorated in high relief on all surfaces with imagery associated with the sea.. At its center, mythological figures cavort in the water and in contrast to the sharply delineated, interlocking forms that make up the border. Close inspection of the border elements suggest the flat body and undulating wing-like fins of a ray fish and the muscular, suction-cup covered tentacles of an octopus. The relief surfaces of the dish would have rendered it impractical for use at the table. Instead, it was intended to be displayed on a sideboard or cabinet along with other silver, as an indicator of the owner’s means and position.