This beautiful and exceptionally important set of nine silver plates, dated 629 to 630, was discovered with two other silver plates in 1902 in Karavas in northern Cyprus. The plates were found hidden near a small horde of gold jewelry. Six of the David Plates are in the museum's collection, while the other three plates are in the collection of the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia, Cyprus.
Elaborate dishes such as the David Plates had long been used for display by the aristocracy and imperial court of the Byzantine Empire. The dishes’ costly material and artistry were indications of the wealth of their owners, while the usual classical themes of the decoration indicated their learning. The low-relief scenes on the David Plates—with the figures’ realistic musculature, body movements, and drapery patterns, as well as the clarity and balance of the compositions—offer proof of the continuity of Greco-Roman traditions in Byzantine art. Yet the decoration of the David Plates is unique in that it presents incidents from the early life of the Jewish hero David as told in 1 Samuel 16–18 in the Old Testament of the Bible. 
In eleven scenes, David is summoned from his flock of sheep to meet the prophet Samuel; he is anointed the new king of Israel by Samuel (since King Saul of Israel is no longer in God’s favor); David argues with his brother Eliab after he comes into Saul’s camp and hears about the reward for killing the giant Goliath, the champion of the enemy Philistines; David offers to fight Goliath, countering Saul’s worry that he is just a boy by telling the king that he has killed the lions and bears that have threatened his sheep; Saul provides David with armor for his oncoming fight, but David decides not to wear it; David and Goliath confront each other and the young hero successfully slays the giant (presented in three scenes); and finally, David is married to Saul’s daughter Michal, as part of his reward for killing Goliath. 

The medium and small plates undoubtedly were intended to surround the largest, which dramatically shows the Battle of David and Goliath. The arrangement of the nine plates may have closely followed the biblical order of the events, and their display may have conformed to a type of a Christogram, or monogram for the name of Christ, which combines a cross and the Greek letter chi.

The extremely fine quality of the David Plates points to production in the palace workshops of Constantinople, which had a monopoly on the manufacture of certain luxury goods. The making of each plate began with hammering out a round shape from a single cast-silver ingot. (The plate showing the Battle of David and Goliath weighs twelve pounds and ten ounces of pure silver!) Perhaps inspired by manuscript illustrations of David’s life, an artist drew or traced the outlines of the pictures on the surface of the plates. Using hammers the silversmiths raised the rough forms from the surrounding background. Then, using fine chisels, they shaped the figures’ bodies and costumes in low relief. As finishing touches, the fine details of the costumes, armor, facial features, and hair were created by punching, engraving, and chasing. Although the artists who created these plates were obviously highly skilled, following the custom of the times, they did not sign their names. 
On the backs of the plates are the control stamps of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641), which ensured the purity of the plates’ silver. These stamps, together with details on the plates themselves—such as the ceremonial scenes on the medium-sized plates that take place before a central arch atop a colonnade, an architectural feature often used in art as a backdrop for Byzantine imperial events, and the figures who are portrayed in Byzantine court costume—offer the intriguing idea of linking the David Plates to Heraclius’ reign. Indeed, the set may have been commissioned to celebrate Heraclius’ victory over the Sasanian Empire in 628–629, when his empire retook Byzantine territories including Jerusalem (the ancient city founded by King David) as well as taking the Sasanian royal city of Ctesiphon (near modern Baghdad). During the war with the Sasanians, it is said that Heraclius fought the enemy general Razatis in single combat and beheaded him, an event that echoes David’s defeat of Goliath and undoubtedly reinforced emperor Heraclius’s claim to be a new David. 
Roman emperors and aristocratic families commissioned lavish silver table settings for display and sometimes as gifts to impress others with their wealth. Interestingly, the Sasanian rulers of Persia also had a tradition of displaying elaborately decorated silver plates and presenting them as gifts to symbolize their power. 
 

For more information, also see:

• Silver Plate with David and Goliath

• Sasanian Silver Vessels