Rhyton (c. late 600s–early 700s): Art, History and Details

Rhyton (c. late 600s–early 700s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The form of the animal-headed rhyton as a drinking vessel and the use of silver are evidence of cultural exchange with Persia, while the lush, luxurious quality of the design and the form of the lions and curling dragon on one side of the decanter reveal an awareness of Chinese forms. Poured into the large opening at the top of the horn, wine then flowed out through the small tube held between the parted lips of a bovine-like animal. To keep from spilling, drinkers could stop the flow of the liquid by holding a thumb over the lower aperture.

Object facts

• Title: Rhyton
• Date: c. late 600s–early 700s
• Culture: Central Asia (Sogdiana) or Tibet
• Type: Silver
• Technique: silver with gilded foil
• Dimensions: Overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.);
• Collection: Tibetan Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1988.67.3

A detail from the museum

This drinking horn was a communal vessel which guests would pass around to share wine at parties.

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. Clara Taplin Rankin

Further reading listed by the museum

• “The Year in Review for 1988.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 76, no. 2 (February 1989): 30–75.
• Czuma, Stan. "Museum Acquisitions and Notes." Bulletin of the Asia Institute vol. 5 (1991), 190.
• “Recent Acquisitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art II: Departments of Asian Art: Supplement.” The Burlington Magazine 133, no. 1059 (June 1991): 417–424.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.