The Warren Cup: Homoerotic Love and Symposial Rhetoric in Silver

Abstract

An exquisite example of toreutic art of the early Roman Imperial period known as the Warren Cup has been largely neglected in the scholarly literature because of the controversial nature of its scenes of homoerotic lovemaking. This paper offers a new interpretation of the cup’s date, subject matter, function, and significance and considers for the first time the cup’s presumed lost mate and its possible imagery. The rhetorical and aporetic nature of its scenes, its intended audience, and the role of such cups in the intellectual discourse of the Roman banquet are discussed.