The luxury of the Hellenistic courts was legendary; literary texts leave us with an impression of incredible wealth used to amaze and dazzle in the shape of various objects, from garments to statues to plates. Little has survived of these: organic material disintegrates, while bronze, silver and gold were usually melted down. Z.'s monograph on the silver plate that has survived from Macedonia is a welcome and necessary addition to the existing bibliography on ancient metalwares.

The ‘preservation of large amounts of silverware’ in Macedonian graves (p. 1) means that it is possible to study the material and answer questions regarding its function and significance. Z. focusses on the following questions: the circulation of silver plate in Macedonia and beyond; the duration of silver plate use; the production and connection to local workshops; Macedonian features of silver plate distinctive from other Greek or non-Greek ware; and its function in Macedonia.

The first chapter offers a brief introduction to the historiography of silver plate from Macedonia, and Z. delineates her methodology, a combination of art history (typological, stylistic and iconographic analysis) and archaeology (technical aspects, analysis of grave goods and scientific analysis wherever possible).

The second chapter examines the circulation of silver plate before the Roman conquest, its function and meaning for the users of such ware. Macedonia is defined as the geographic area under Philip II's control, inherited or won over. The presence and circulation of silver plate is set against the historical background, and Z. shows how periods of prosperity and stability were the periods with the greater use of silver plate and other objects made of precious materials, with the era of Alexander III's immediate successors the period of the greatest use of silver plate.

The majority of the silver plate found in the tombs was made to be used: the shapes show that they were mostly for liquids, and were used during the symposium. In the second half of the fourth century and in the early third century, silver plate is found in great quantities in the burials of the Vergina tumulus, but also in burials in other locations. Male burials contain full sets of sympotic ware, while female ones have objects that can be associated with the feminine world of cosmetics and food preparation. The wide use of silver plate shows the importance of luxurious display in the Macedonian court and how silver plate was used by the king and his hetairoi. Removal from circulation through burial was not only a sign of ‘conspicuous waste’ (p. 25), but also highlighted the importance and status of the deceased, and illuminated beliefs about the afterlife.

Chapter 3 forms the bulk of the study: it is a survey of all the SP types found in, or connected with, Macedonia, with typological and stylistic analysis, and examination of the dissemination and dating of the types. There are ‘twenty-six distinct forms, some of which have several types’ (p. 29), and they are arranged according to the basic shape of the form: closed vessels are placed first, followed by open shapes, such as bowls and cups, then other objects for sympotic use, such as strainers and ladles, and finally other shapes (spoon, pyxis) and fragments. Each type is described and compared to metal, clay and glass vessels of the same type from other regions, neighbouring if possible, in order to establish the chronology of appearance and use of the type, as well as its development.

In the fourth chapter Z. addresses the problem of chronology. Even though most of the objects come from graves excavated systematically, and therefore come from closed contexts, this only gives the date before which the object was created. Silver plate could be heirlooms or constructed at any point during their owners' lives, and there is not enough material to create a chronological sequence based on stylistic comparisons and analysis. Therefore, the chronology of the silver plate can only be relative, usually dated within twenty years. Z. also addresses the dating of the tombs of the great tumulus at Vergina, especially that of Tomb II. Like other scholars, Z. emphasises the importance of the tombs for what they offer to our understanding of Macedonian culture and society, rather than for who was their occupant. Her results are cautious, as the material from the graves is not fully published, but her analysis of the silver plate favours a date in the last quarter of the fourth century rather than the third.

The last two chapters are very brief. Chapter 5 presents the few inscriptions found on silver plate. They cannot help with dating the objects, but give important information on workshops, and the weight and value of the objects. The last chapter is on the techniques used in the production of silver plate.

In the epilogue Z. returns to her initial questions and summarises her answers: yes, there was a distinct Macedonian character to these objects, but it drew inspiration from other, Greek and non-Greek, sources. The production of the silver plate can be linked to the needs of the Macedonian elite for display – in symposia, gift-exchange and funerary rituals – and its distribution supports this local character/need.

The study concludes with several appendices (tables of motifs and chronologies, composition of silver alloys, sources of silver, Hellenistic silver plate outside Macedonia), a gazetteer of sites and grave goods, and an exemplary catalogue with all the published material drawn or illustrated, or both.

The most important contribution of this study is that it brings together all the material from Macedonia known until early 2000 and presents it in a clear fashion, thus making it widely accessible. The survey of the types is an illuminating account of the great variety and richness of shapes, showing the sophistication and luxury of the Macedonian court in a tangible way. Even though this is the main part of the study, the objects are contextualised, placed against the historical background of Macedonia's ascendancy and decline, and within the network of diplomatic and trade relations between Macedonia and its neighbours.

This book will prove invaluable to advanced scholars and undergraduates alike: the former will benefit from the in-depth, rigorous discussion and analysis of the material, and the latter will find a useful collection of information otherwise unavailable to non-Greek-speaking students. Furthermore, it will be of great interest to anyone studying Greek history and archaeology of the fourth and third centuries b.c.

Most of the maps, graphs and tables are clear, although the publishing in black and white means that in the diagrams, the colours of the charts and the accompanying labels do not correspond, making understanding of Diagram 2 (p. 24) difficult. But that is a small problem that should not detract from the overall usefulness and value of this study of a fascinating and important subject.