Trivulzio Cage Cup
| Trivulzio Cage Cup | |
|---|---|
| Italian: Diatreta Trivulzio | |
| Material | Glass |
| Size | 12 cm (4.7 in) high |
| Writing | Latin: BIBE VIVAS MVLTIS ANNIS |
| Created | 4th century AD |
| Discovered | In an ancient sarcophagus near Novara, Italy |
| Present location | Archaeological Museum, Milan, Italy |
| Culture | Roman culture |
The Trivulzio Cage Cup (Italian: Diatreta Trivulzio) is a glass wine cup realized in the 4th century AD. It is one of the best-preserved late-Roman cage cups.
Description
The cup consists of two parts: an inner cup-shaped container and an outer cage that encloses it.[1] The cup is made of colorless glass with shades of emerald green, light hazelnut, and dark blue.[2] The outer cage has the shape of a delicate web of brown and blue glass circles linked with a cross motif at the points of contact.[2] It is connected to the container by thin glass stems. Underneath the lip is a Latin inscription carved in light blue glass: BIBE VIVAS MVLTIS ANNIS (Drink and may you live many years), a convivial acclamation that, according to Filippo Buonarroti, the Romans were accustomed to carve on banquet cups.[3]
History
The cup was probably realized by a specialized workshop in the vicinity of Milan, then capital of the Roman Empire, during the 4th century AD. It was part of a funerary trousseau discovered on 9 June 1675 in a sarcophagus in between the comuni of Mandello Vitta and Castellazzo Novarese, near Novara, Piedmont.[4] After the death of its first owner, Everardo Visconti, the cup was sold to Abbot Carlo Trivulzio; a learned collector of ancient artifacts who, recognizing its value, purchased it in 1777.[5]
The object acquired immediate fame after being described in the Italian edition of Johann Joachim Winckelmann's History of the Art of Antiquity (1779).[6] The cup had caught the attention of the German scholar who became interested in the manufacture techniques of cage cups.[7] The cup was purchased by the Municipality of Milan in 1935 and it is currently displayed at the Archaeological Museum, Milan.
Notes
- ^ Raddato, Carole (2014). "Trivulzio Diatreta Cup". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Coppa Diatreta Trivulzio". museoarcheologicomilano.it. Archaeological Museum, Milan. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ^ Bossi Visconti 1807, pp. 103–105.
- ^ "Sezione Romana - 3 - La coppa diatreta". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
- ^ Romussi 1912, pp. 130–131.
- ^ Winckelmann 1779, pp. 26–27.
- ^ Whitehouse 1994.
Bibliography
- Winckelmann, Johann Joachim (1779). Storia delle arti del disegno presso gli antichi. Vol. 1. Milan: Imperial Monistero di S. Ambrogio Maggiore.
- Bossi Visconti, Luigi (1807). Observations sur le vase que l'on conservait à Gênes sous le nom de Sacro Catino (in French). Translated by Aubin-Louis Millin de Grandmaison. Turin: Jean Giossi.
- Romussi, Carlo (1912). Milano ne' suoi monumenti. Vol. 1 (3rd ed.). Milan: Sonzogno. pp. 130–132.
- Bertolone, Mario (1947–1948). "La tazza vitrea diatreta Cagnola". Rivista archeologica della antica Provincia e Diocesi di Como. 128–129: 31–35.
- Whitehouse, David (1994). "DIATRETI, Vasi". Enciclopedia dell'Arte Antica. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- Aquaro, Peppe (5 March 2004). "La Coppa Trivulzio, Merletto di Vetro". Corriere della Sera. p. 57.
- Buonopane, Alfredo (2016). "La prima edizione della "coppa Trivulzio" con alcune osservazioni in margine a CIL, V, 6532 e Pais, Supplementa Italica, 1083,2". I mille volti del passato Scritti in onore di Francesca Ghedini (in Italian). Rome: Quasar. pp. 817–824. ISBN 978-88-7140-731-9.