Ram’s Head Drinking Vessel
Ram’s Head Drinking Vessel
Place of OriginLikely Iran, possibly Ziwiye (Ziwiyeh)
Date7th century BCE or later
Dimensions5 3/4 × 4 1/8 × 4 5/8 in. (14.6 × 10.5 × 11.7 cm)
Rim: 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm)
Rim: 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm)
MediumWheel-thrown and hand-modeled earthenware
with applied ears and horns.
ClassificationCeramics
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey, Florence Scott Libbey, and S.O. Richardson, Jr. by exchange
Object number
1993.50
On View
Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic
DescriptionA small terracotta vessel in the form of a ram’s head. The upper section was wheel-thrown; the horns, brows, and muzzle were modeled and applied by hand. Details were incised while the clay was leather-hard, and the surface was carefully burnished. Made of fine buff-colored clay. Lacks a spout, suggesting use as a drinking cup rather than a rhyton.
Label TextThis terracotta vessel takes the form of a ram’s head, its horns and muzzle modeled by hand and its surface polished to a soft sheen. Such zoomorphic drinking vessels were common in elite contexts in ancient Iran during the 8th–7th centuries BCE. Though lacking a spout, this example resembles rhyta—ritual or feasting vessels shaped like animals. Given its form, materials, and technical features, the ram’s head vessel likely originated within the cultural matrix of Iron Age northwestern Iran. The style closely aligns with zoomorphic rhyta attributed to the region surrounding Ziwiyeh, a fortified site in modern-day Kurdistan Province. Archaeological remains and material from the so-called Ziwiyeh Treasure—though much of it lacks secure provenance—point to an elite visual culture combining Assyrian, Urartian, Scythian, and local Median elements.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Inspired Giving: The Apollo Society 25th Anniversary Exhibition, October 15, 2010-February 13, 2011 (not in catalog).Comparative ReferencesSee also Ghirshman, R., The Arts of Ancient Iran, New York, 1964, pp. 77-90, 98-127, 322-329, esp. pls 396, 399, 403 and 404.
cf. Pandora, E., The Art of Ancient Iran, New York, 1965, p. 121, pl. 32, pp. 123-141.
cf. Amiet, P., Art of the Ancient Near East, New York, 1980, p. 421, fig. 653.
200-100 BCE
1st century BCE - 4th century CE
Probably first century BCE to first century CE
Probably first century BCE to first century CE
Probably first century BCE to first century CE
1918
Probably 5th-4th century BCE
568-525 BCE
about 2400 - 2000 BCE
Early to Late 15th century
10th-13th century
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