id: 140480 accession number: 1964.39 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1964.39 updated: 2023-08-24 11:35:32.097000 Spoon with Saint Paul as an Athlete, 350–400. Late Roman Empire, perhaps Syria, early Byzantine, 4th century. Silver, silver gilt, and niello; overall: 4.6 x 5.6 cm (1 13/16 x 2 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1964.39 title: Spoon with Saint Paul as an Athlete title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 350–400 creation date earliest: 350 creation date latest: 400 current location: 104 Late Antiquity creditline: John L. Severance Fund copyright: --- culture: late Roman Empire, perhaps Syria, early Byzantine, 4th century technique: silver, silver gilt, and niello department: Medieval Art collection: MED - Byzantine type: Metalwork find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 4.6 x 5.6 cm (1 13/16 x 2 3/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: the interior of the bowl contains an inscription filled with niello giving the Latin name of "PAVLVS." translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Golden Anniversary of Acquisitions opening date: 1966-09-10T04:00:00 Golden Anniversary of Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10-October 16, 1966). title: Art of the Late Antique opening date: 1968-12-17T05:00:00 Art of the Late Antique. The Rose Art Museum, Waltham, MA (organizer) (December 17, 1968-February 16, 1969). title: Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art opening date: 2007-05-10T00:00:00 Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 13-June 7, 2009). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Waltham Mass.; Ross Art Museum, Brandeis University: "Art of the Late Antique," December 17, 1968--February 17, 1969.
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art: "The Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, 3rd to 7th century" November 19, 1977--February 12, 1978, no. 316.
Cleveland, CMA: "From Hand to Mouth: A History of Flatware" October 18, 1994-March 26, 1995.
Bavarian Nationalmuseum, Munich (5/10/2007 - 9/16/2007), the J. Paul Getty Musuem, Los Angeles (10/30/2007 - 1/20/2008) and Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN (2/13/2009 - 6/7/2009): "Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art" --- PROVENANCE Mrs. Paul Mallon, New York. date: footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1964- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: Silver spoons with swan neck handles (ligulae) were popular in the Late Roman Empire. This late antique spoon is unique because it is decorated with the nude figure of a victorious athlete identified in an inscription as PAVLVS (Paul). It is tempting to interpret the juxtaposition of the name with a classical representation of an athlete as a subtle allusion to a passage in Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 9:24-27), in which the apostle characterizes himself as an "athlete of Christ." While this interpretation may imply that the spoon’s owner was a Christian, it does not imply a religious function for the object, which was likely used for display or fine dining. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. page number: Reproduced: p. 36 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n60 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. page number: Reproduced: p. 36 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n58 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. page number: Reproduced: p. 34 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n54 Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 44-45, no. 5 url: Hervas, Rocio Gordillo, Eduardo Ferrer Albelda, Alvaro Pereira Delgado. "Compitiendo Para los Dioses: Los Rituales Agonisticos en el Mundo Antiguo," Spal Monografias Arqueologia XLIII Sevilla, 2022. page number: cover url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1964.39/1964.39_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1964.39/1964.39_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1964.39/1964.39_full.tif