Homer Cup 1847

The Homer Cup was made from silver and gold by C. Benjamin Schlick, an American artist born in 1836. This cup is a window into the 19th-century fascination with classical antiquity. The scenes evoke the epic poems of Homer, tales deeply embedded in Western culture, yet they often sidelined the perspectives and contributions of women and people of color. The cup’s ornate decoration and precious materials speak to the opulence and exclusivity of the time, reflective of a society grappling with its own identity in the wake of industrialization and shifting social hierarchies. The figures are rendered with a distinct classical style that romanticizes a distant past. This idealization invites us to consider which stories are privileged and which are marginalized in our cultural narratives. Consider the power dynamics at play. The cup embodies the complex interplay of artistry, identity, and historical narrative.