Kottabos Element of a Dancing Satyr
Unknown Artist
470–450 BCE
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
h. 15 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1974.16
About this artwork
This diminutive dancing satyr, identifiable by his snub nose and equine ears (though without a tail), lifts his leg and reaches with an upstretched arm toward a dish, now lost. The disc and cylinder on which he stands likely rested atop a much taller post, with a larger disc or dish below, as preserved in more complete examples and illustrated on numerous ancient vases. In the drinking game kottabos, known by its Greek name but also popular in Etruria, the goal was to knock a dish off its precar...