The 'Klimova' Cup.

The ‘Klimova Cup’ is a beautiful silver plate with gilding, 21.6 cm in diameter and 793.2 grams in weight (Pl. 8.1). It was discovered in Imperial Russia in June 1907, along with seven other Sasanian and Byzantine dishes. The objects were found in two pits located close to the homonymous village of Klimova, Bolšaja Serva in Solikamskij County in the district of Perm, near the Ural Mountains. Immediately after its discovery, this extraordinary object was acquired (together with the rest of the hoard) by the local governor and sent to the Imperial Archaeological Commission (Smirnov 1909), who transferred the precious items to the Hermitage Museum in 1908, where they remain to this day. The present dish was catalogued with the inventory code-number S-43 (Trever and Lukonin 1987, 97–98, 111, 125–26, 143, pl. 28–31; Harper and Meyers 1981, 181). Over time, the local administrative toponymy of Russia has changed: Klimova is no longer mentioned on current maps. Nevertheless, the terrain where the dish under discussion was unearthed was precisely identified in the 1960s by archaeologist Vasilij Leščenko. Today it can be found in Kudymkar, about one kilometre east of Dzeržinskaya Street, and one kilometre north of the village periphery, which corresponds to the former Klimova. Thius article deals with the history of the interpretation of the iconography and iconology of this cup with close regard for teh astral dimension.