Plate with a Fisherman

[EclecticGuy]

Many of you may be familiar with the Plate with a Fisherman at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA. The plate is from the Eastern Mediterranean and dates to A.D. 500-600 and depicts an angler sitting on a rock wall removing his catch from a fishing rod fitted with a REEL. I believe this is the earliest known artifact of a reel (if you know of an earlier example, please email/PM me!). The rod even appears to have guides with the line looping between them.

Flash forward 1500 years or so...

Working in his cave at the Gnomish Rod Works in Paonia, CO, artist, angling historian, rod builder, and Gnome, Jeff Hatton created his interpretation of this plate in bronze. I am fortunate to own one of the Artist Proofs of this beautiful sculpture that depicts the first fishing reel. Here is Jeff's photo of the plate:



Jeff's (aka the Gnome) work is about 10" across and cast in bronze with a lovely patina. Jeff is casting a limited edition of 50 of these. Visit Jeff's website if you are interested or want to get more information about his work.

This plate will be accompanying me to all of my Reelsmithing Workshops and presentations. Should be quite the conversation starter!

cheers,
Michael