Alexandre Vibert "La Pêche Au Filet" Ormolu Ewer

This "La Pêche Au Filet" ormolu ewer by Vibert is intricately adorned with a sculptural depiction of the naiad Daphne, who clings to a handle shaped like a laurel tree. She is seated precariously on a river bank. With her left hand she holds fast to a tree branch, with her right she draws in a net full of fish. Daphne, a minor goddess of streams and brooks, was a devoted follower of Artemis, the huntress-goddess, and had sworn to remain a virgin. According to myth, when Apollo mocked Cupid’s archery, Cupid retaliated by striking Apollo with a love-inducing arrow, causing him to pursue Daphne relentlessly. As he closed in on her, Daphne called upon her father, the river god Peneus, who transformed her into a laurel tree to preserve her chastity. This outcome was doubly tragic, as Apollo was the brother of her patroness, Artemis. Daphne thus became an enduring symbol of virtue, choosing to forfeit her human form rather than be defiled. At her feet, a wild mustard plant flourishes, while