At ancient banquets, horn-shaped rhyta (from the Greek for “to flow”) made of clay, ivory, silver, and even gold were popular drinking cups. They would be filled with wine poured into the open top. Guests would then take a drink from the spout—which is between the animal’s legs in this example—and pass the vessel from hand to hand until it was empty. The animal, a humpbacked wild bull called a zebu, is a motif seen in Persian images of royal hunts, while the foliage depicted is drawn from Greek art. Their combination here reflects the mixture of influences in the art of the wider Hellenistic world after Alexander the Great’s conquest of Persia.

Seleucid, from Persia, Rhyton (Drinking Vessel) with the Forepart of a Zebu. Silver with sheet gilding, 200–100 BCE. Length: 16 7/8 in. (42.8 cm). Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, 1988.23. On view in the Classic Court.