Gilt silver rhyton (BM)

Gilt silver rhyton (BM)

Silver rhyton with partial gilding, reportedly from Erzincan (eastern Turkey).  Horizontally fluted silver horn with attached protome depicting the foreparts of a horned winged griffin.  Around the rim, an ornamented relief band with palmettes and lotus-buds. Gilding on the band around the rim and on parts of the griffin.  Used as a wine-pourer; small hole in chest of griffin to serve as pourer.  

H. 0.23m; Diam. 0.134-0.145m; weight 891g. British Museum (BM 124081).

The rhyton with animal-head terminal is a highly characteristic Achaemenid form of drinking vessel, found both in precious metals and in clay in a wide range of Achaemenid contexts; although not depicted in the Apadana reliefs, they appear in other artistic contexts (e.g. there are several examples depicted on the Nereid monument). For a good short discussion, see E. Dusinberre, Empire, Authority and Autonomy in Achaemenid Anatolia (2013), 131-2.  Two simple clay rhyta appear in the Deve Hüyük assemblage.

J. Curtis and N. Tallis, Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia (2005), 122 no. 119.