Wine Jug with Trefoil Mouth

Place of OriginCyprus

Date750-600 BCE

Dimensions10 × 4 × 6 7/8 in. (25.4 × 10.2 × 17.5 cm)

MediumWheel-thrown, slip-decorated earthenware

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1916.96

Not on View

DescriptionThis is a wheel-thrown earthenware jug with an applied handle. It has a globular body that tapers to a small foot, a cylindrical neck, and a prominent trefoil, or three-lobed, mouth designed for pouring. The decoration is painted in red and brown slip. Three large concentric circles are painted on the shoulder, and the neck and body are decorated with horizontal bands of varying thickness. The object is recorded as intact, though slightly worn with some loss of slip. A "kiln bump" is visible on the shoulder next to the handle

Label TextThis jug was crafted on the island of Cyprus over 2,500 years ago, during the Cypro-Archaic period. It is an example of "Bichrome ware," a style defined by its two-color decoration of red and brown slip, a form of liquid clay. The potter, working on a wheel, created its round body and then added striking geometric designs: simple horizontal bands and a row of large, concentric circles on the shoulder. The jug's "trefoil," or three-lobed, mouth was a practical feature, designed to pour wine smoothly without spilling, likely during banquets or rituals. This vessel was excavated in the 19th century and was part of the famous Cesnola Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art before coming to Toledo in 1916.Comparative ReferencesSee also Gjerstad, Einar, The Swedish Cyprus Expedition, Stockholm, 1948, vol. IV, part 2, fig. XXXV, no. 1.