‘Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World’ a showcase for intoxicating art
If you were throwing a feast during the Achaemenid Persian era and looking to impress your guests, nothing but a rhyton, animal-shaped and brimming with wine, would do. But the rockin’ parties of 550 B.C. were hardly the only occasion for the beastly vessels. Based on the Greek word rheo, meaning “to flow,” the rhyton first appeared in Bronze Age Greek civilizations and was mainly used for pouring liquid offerings during religious rituals, frequently out of the hole in the animal’s muzzle onto an altar or the ground. Later, Persian Empire vessels were associated with feasts and would have been poured into a cup, or directly into the mouth, offering revelers a swift (and messy) route to intoxication. Some rhyta were part of sacred ceremonies, while others were buried in tombs or even used in statecraft. Nearly 60 examples of animal-shaped rhyta, mugs, cups, pitchers and other drinking objects make up a...