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 the surrounding brook teems with European white water lilies (nenuphars) and a kingfisher, enhancing the naturalistic detail of the scene. The mustard plant, used in the ancient world for its medicinal properties, was associated with Asclepius, the god of medicine and commerce. Asclepius, the son of Apollo and the mortal woman Coronis, was born under tragic circumstances: when Coronis was unfaithful, Apollo ordered Artemis to kill her. Stricken with guilt, Apollo cut his unborn child from her womb and deified him. Both Daphne and Asclepius are thus linked as victims of Apollo’s cruelty, their fates shaped by his relentless desires and divine wrath.