Stag-Shaped Drinking Horn (Rhyton)

Place of OriginItaly, perhaps Adria or Aquileia

Dateabout 100 CE

DimensionsH: 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm); L: 5 1/2 in. (14 cm)

MediumGlass; blown.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

2005.6

Not on View

DescriptionA drinking horn (rhyton) composed of colorless glass with a pale greenish tinge. The body features a tapering bowl with mold-blown fluted ribs curving outward. The vessel terminates in an animal protome featuring two pulled-out, slightly twisted ears and a long, narrow snout - perhaps indicating a stag or, as has sometimes been argued, a snail. The snout is pierced with an opening at the tip. The rim is short, cracked off, and exhibits a slight constriction where it meets the body. There is no pontil mark on the base. The surface exhibits areas of iridescence and weathering.

Label TextThis vessel, known as a rhyton, mimics the shape of natural animal horns originally used for drinking in antiquity. While many rhyta were made from pottery or precious metals, this example is crafted from blown glass, featuring elegant mold-impressed ribs. The vessel terminates in the head of an animal, likely a stag with stylized antlers, or perhaps even a snail. To use a rhyton, the drinker would cover the small hole at the tip of the snout with a finger while the horn was filled. Removing the finger allowed a stream of wine to flow directly into the drinker's mouth—a festive and skillful way to consume wine at banquets. Wall paintings from Herculaneum depict banqueters drinking in exactly this manner.Comparative ReferencesCf. Yacoub, M., "Les verres romains des Musées de Sfax, de Sousse et du Bardo," Bulletin Association internationale pour l'histoire du verre, no. 6, 1971-72, p. 34, no. V.1. A. v.

Cf. "Glasrhyta," in T. E. Haevernick and A. v. Saldern, eds., Festschrift für Waldemar Haberey, Mainz a. Rhein, 1976, pl. 32, no. 2 (from Adria, Italy), pl. 32, no. 3 (in the Cinzano Collection), and pl. 33, no. 3 (in the British Museum); and M. C. Calvi, I vetri romani del Museo di Aquileia, Aquileia 1968, p. 108, no. 259 (from Aquileia, Italy). See also D. Whitehouse, Roman Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass, vol. 1, 1997, p. 120, no.186 (with tooled "horns" and without mold-blown ribs). Cf. Isings, Roman Glass from Dated Finds, Groningen and Djakarta, 1957, form 73a.