A silver footed 'animals' bowl, Central Asia or late Roman Empire, circa 2nd-6th century

This rare silver bowl, boldly decorated with six panels depicting a lion, birds and other stylised animals, was traditionally considered to be Central Asian or Sassanian. However, a technical report by the British Museum concluded that it could be late Roman, from the Eastern Empire. This is because, unlike Sassanian silver vessels which were formed predominantly by hammering, the current bowl was hammered, cut and punched, and finished by scraping.