Images Patera of Parabiago. Silver incised with gold, IV century A.D. Found in Parabiago, Italy

The "patera of Parabiago" is an ornamental massive silver plate illustrating and depicting religious themes. Masterfully crafted, it weights up to 3.5 kilos and some of its decorated parts were heightened in gold with a mercury gilding process. It must have been used in rituals dedicated to the adoration of the goddess Cybele. It was discovered at Parabiago (near Milan), during some civil excavations. It is thought to have been ordered and made during emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus, in IV century A.D., at a time characterized by the rebirth of paganism in Milan.