194 Field Museum of Natural History — Anth., Vol. VII. 



as palm-branches, which are used so freely as a decorative motive in 

 Pompeian frescoes that no special allusion need be sought in order to 

 account for their presence here. There was an approximately simi- 

 lar representation of a single palm-branch on the handle of a silver 

 casserole found near Zurich. 1 



The back of the handle, which has fine beading down each edge, 

 ends in appearance, though not in reality, in a volute at either side 

 with a recurved leaf between them, a repetition on a smaller scale 

 of the terminal motives at the top. Volutes and leaf form the upper 

 boundary of the attachment-plaque. 



The space between the transverse band at the top and the re- 

 curved leaf at the bottom is occupied by three designs in relief, name- 

 ly, a mask with a garland above and a basket beneath. The mask, 

 which faces to left, has the deep set eyes and strong masculine though 

 beardless profile of a Hellenistic portrait. The head is represented 

 as wearing a sort of cap with puffed sides, beneath which the hair 

 falls in curls at the back. 2 The central portion of the garland hangs 

 in a half-circle from two points just beneath the transverse band, 

 while the long ends reach nearly down to the mask. 3 About in the 

 center of the space enclosed by garland and mask there is a bit of 

 incrustation which may conceal some small object. Beneath the 

 mask the shallow wicker basket has, along the top, a row of dots, 

 perhaps representing fruit, 4 perhaps merely ornamental, 5 and, at 

 either side, a dependent streamer terminating in a ball, 6 probably 

 originally inlaid with silver, which has disappeared. Above the 

 basket there were two smaller balls. 



Vases of this style are numerously represented in the Naples Mu- 

 seum, as may be seen from the list given by Schreiber, 7 and are found 

 occasionally outside of Campania. There is an example from Bosco- 

 reale in Berlin. 8 From the same site comes a vase of similar shape, 

 but without thumb-rest or ornament. 9 A terra-cotta vase with no 

 thumb-rest, but with a transverse band on the handle, was found 

 at Priene. 10 According to Schreiber, 11 vases and handles of the same 



1 Schreiber, op. cit. p. 319, No. 9, a, fig. 61. 



* Cf. Schreiber, op. cit. p. 349, No. 86, a) (portrait bust), p. 357. No. 107, 0) (mask with cap). 



* For similar position and arrangement, cf. Schreiber, op. cit. p. 34s, fig. 86, 0) ; cf. also ibid. p. 467. 



4 Cf. Reinach, Rep. de la slat, i, p. 34, plate 155. 



5 Cf. Zahn, Die schoenslen Ornamenle, etc. Vol. ii, plate 70. 



* Cf. Schreiber, Alexand. Toreutik, p. 35L No. 93 0. 



1 Alexand. Toreutik, pp. 344 ff. •'• 



8 Jahrbuch, xv, Am. pp. 194 ff., fig. 24 (Pernice). 

 > Ibid. p. 194. 



10 Priene, pp. 421 f., No. 58. 



11 Alexand. Toreutik, p. 433. 



