Woman and Water Buffalo Rhyton
Unknown Artist
500–700
Medium
silver, with mercury gilding and glass inlays
Dimensions
h. 19.1 cm
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession Number
1964.96
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Recalling both Greek and Iranian traditions of head vases and rhyta (drinking horns), this unusual silver vessel combines the heads of a woman and a water buffalo. A filling hole on top and a pouring or drinking spout in front make clear its function. An inscription in Middle Persian on its back records its weight: probably 50 staters and three drachmae (close to its current weight of just over 700 grams, or about 1-1/2 pounds). The woman’s flat brow, straight nose, and widely set, heavy-lidded ...