This exhibition is dedicated to the extraordinary set of 12 silver-gilt standing cups known collectively as the Aldobrandini Tazze. While the artisan(s) who created the works remain anonymous, there are strong suggestions of Netherlandish craftsmanship. The tazze are reunited and displayed together for the first time since the mid-19th century, when the objects were disassembled and dispersed, their constituent parts misidentified and mismatched. The exhibition thus provides visitors with a rare opportunity to appreciate one of the finest and most enigmatic monuments of 16th-century goldsmiths’ work. Properly reassembled, the tazze bring to life the history of the first 12 Caesars, as recounted by the Roman historian Suetonius. Each stands over a foot high and is composed of a shallow footed dish surmounted by the figure of one of the Caesars; four scenes from Suetonius’s Life of the relevant ruler appear intricately wrought upon the concave interior of each dish. Also includes a publication, The Silver Caesars: A Renaissance Mystery, edited by Julia Siemon
For more information: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2017/silver-caesars
