OENOCHOE Oenochoe with horseshoe mouth. The body of the vase is curved right up to the shoulder, which marks a clear narrowing. Both the eastern shoulder and the body are decorated with engraved fluting around the rim, separated by an elegant olive tree frieze ending in a central flower highlighted in silver. The base of the neck is decorated with a frieze of ovals surmounted by a design of palmettes and acanthus leaves, the buds of which are also highlighted in silver. The handle, which has become detached, is decorated with a protome of a hybrid animal reminiscent of certain Hellenistic oriental representations of chimeras (cf. fig.1, a rhyton in Parthian ivory in the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg) at the upper attachment and a medusa head in the lower medallion. The handle itself is decorated with a plant motif. The foot is decorated with copper ivy leaves. This type of bronze and silver tableware was common in the early Imperial Roman period and was directly inspired by Hellenistic models (fig.2, a similar oenochoe in the Cabinet des Médailles, Paris). Here, however, the complexity and richness of the iconographic repertoire make it one of the most remarkable examples. Bronze and silver. Height 22.5 cm Roman art, Parthian culture, 1st century A Roman Bronze and silver Oinochoe. Oenochoe with a horseshoe mouth. The body of the vase is rounded up to the shoulder which marks a clear narrowing. Between the collar and the belly. The shoulder and body are decorated with grooves with engraved edges and separated by an elegant olive frieze ending with a central flower enhanced with silver. The base of the collar is decorated with a frieze of eggs topped with a decoration of palmettes and acanthus, the buttons of which are also enhanced with silver. The handle, which has become detached, is decorated with a hybrid animal protome reminiscent of certain Eastern Hellenistic representations of chimera (see fig.1, a Parthian ivory rhyton preserved at the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg) at the height of the upper attachment and a jellyfish head at the level of the lower medallion. A plant motif adorns the handle itself. On the foot, decoration of heart-shaped ivy leaves. This type of bronze and silver tableware is commonly found at the beginning of the Imperial Roman era and directly inspired by Hellenistic models (fig.2, a similar oenochoe kept at the Cabinet des Médailles, Paris). Here, however, the complexity and richness of the iconographic repertoire make it a most remarkable example.1st Century A.D. Provenance Private collection, Holland