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Feeding bowl

1690
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 551
This shell-shaped vessel—known as a feeding bowl—was used to serve strong broth or other liquid nourishment to the sick through a pierced well. The absence of marks suggests that the unknown goldsmith, who merged superior craftmanship with inventive design to create this piece, was guild-exempt while working as a court goldsmith. On the cover plate is an armorial roundel with a Latin inscription encircling the ibex (goat) crest of Count Michael Teleki de Szék (b. 1634), a wealthy statesman, military commander, and landlord. The engraved date 1690 is the year of the count’s death. He likely used the bowl himself during his final illness. A similar coat of arms of a rampant goat as a hexagonal dish in the Hungarian National Museum.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Feeding bowl
  • Date: 1690
  • Culture: Hungarian, Transylvania
  • Medium: Silver, partly gilded
  • Dimensions: Overall: 6 3/4 x 8 x 4 7/16 in. (17.2 x 20.3 x 11.3 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Silver
  • Credit Line: Gift of The Salgo Trust for Education, New York, in memory of Nicolas M. Salgo, 2010
  • Object Number: 2010.110.40
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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