This magnificent gold bowl is a phiale, a vessel used to pour liquid offerings to a god, or in honor of the deceased. It is displayed on its side so that you can see the ornate decoration that covers its exterior surface. Take a closer look at the intricately crafted bees, acorns, and beechnuts that adorn it. The artist worked the design in repoussé, hammering the pattern through from the inside. If you walk around the case, you can get a better idea of this technique.

Returning to the underside, you will see some deeply engraved characters. They indicate the weight of the bowl. Phialai decorated with acorns were crafted in Greece as early as the late sixth century B.C. Acorns are symbols of fecundity and abundance. In Greek mythology, acorns were associated with the nymph, Balanis, who inhabited the oak tree. They were also sacred to Zeus, whose great sanctuary at Dodona in Greece grew around a sacred grove of oak trees. Early on, priests and priestesses at this sanctuary listened to the rustling of the oak leaves, which they interpreted as prophecies from Zeus.

Hellenistic kings sometime commissioned commemorative gold phialai for religious festivals that they financed. These precious gold vessels were offered at sanctuaries where they were stored in treasuries, built specifically for housing such valuable offerings.