Lot 508
Rare Mycenaean Bull's Head Rhyton, Ex-Loan Met Museum NYC
Rare Mycenaean Bull's Head Rhyton, Ex-Loan Met Museum NYC
Current Bid: $1,250
(1 Bid)
Magna Graecia. Central Anatolia, late Helladic IIIB, Late 14th - 13th century BCE. Pottery rhyton depicting the stylized head of a bull, having small pointed horns and an upturned snout, small ears in a pulled back position. Painted dark brown and red-orange on a light cream-gray ground, having multi-linear brows and concentric ring eyes. A large concentric triangle painted in the center of his forehead. Custom metal base. A very rare example.
A rhyton is a type of libation vase — the offering was poured through a hole in the animal's muzzle, and using the principle of the siphon, liquid would not flow as long as the opening at the top was closed with the thumb. The bull held a central place in Mycenaean religious life — appearing in frescoes, metalwork, and ritual vessels across palatial sites from Mycenae to Tiryns — its image associated with divine power, sacrifice, and the ritual pageantry of the Bronze Age Aegean world. Mounted on a custom metal base. Size: 4.75”L x 5.25”W (12.1 x 13.3cm).
Provenance: Private NYC. collection, acquired 1980’s. Previously on loan to the Met. Museum, NYC. 1988.26.4.
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Item #
71576
- Condition: Overall scattered surface deposits. Several minor rim chips and a filled tight hair line diagonal across the right side of his head. Some museum type surface restoration on his right jaw, and repairs to the rim.
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| From: | To: | Increments: |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $749 | $25 |
| $750 | $1,499 | $50 |
| $1,500 | $2,999 | $100 |
| $3,000 | $7,499 | $250 |
| $7,500 | $14,999 | $500 |
| $15,000 + | $1,000 |