This semi-translucent plate is made of fine crystalline Parian marble and displays expertly delicate and artistic workmanship. The plate has a shallow, rounded form with a flattened rim contoured on the interior and a concentric circle adorning the interior of the plate. A circular embossment on the underside forms its base.
Note
This elegant marble plate was most likely part of an exotic and luxurious set of tableware. Although the production of stone vessels in votive or sepulchral contexts is well documented in Greece since the 3rd millennium or earlier, the use of stone tableware rather than precious metal seems to be from a later date and a practice that the Greeks borrowed from their far richer neighbors in Lydia, Persia, and to a lesser extent Egypt.
