“[…] next came the children of the Silver Age, inferior to the Gold, but more worthy than the yellowish bronze. Jupiter shortened the length of the original spring […] and divided the year into four seasons” (Ovid, Metamorphoses, I, 113-118).

This age is personified by a woman dressed in silver. She bears corn and a plough to symbolise the moment when the fruits of the earth ceased to grow of their own accord. On the right we see the four Seasons and above them Time, which regulates the different times of year, some more benign than others.