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Source Description
The form of the animal-headed rhyton as a drinking vessel and the use of silver are evidence of cultural exchange with Persia, while the lush, luxurious quality of the design and the form of the lions and curling dragon on one side of the decanter reveal an awareness of Chinese forms. Poured into the large opening at the top of the horn, wine then flowed out through the small tube held between the parted lips of a bovine-like animal. To keep from spilling, drinkers could stop the flow of the liquid by holding a thumb over the lower aperture.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
154258
label
Rhyton
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
154258
contentType
object
title
Rhyton
description
The form of the animal-headed rhyton as a drinking vessel and the use of silver are evidence of cultural exchange with Persia, while the lush, luxurious quality of the design and the form of the lions and curling dragon on one side of the decanter reveal an awareness of Chinese forms. Poured into the large opening at the top of the horn, wine then flowed out through the small tube held between the parted lips of a bovine-like animal. To keep from spilling, drinkers could stop the flow of the liquid by holding a thumb over the lower aperture.
date
c. late 600s–early 700s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79941069
genreSpecific
Silver
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.);
cul
Central Asia (Sogdiana) or Tibet
accession
1988.67.3
Source extras
tec
silver with gilded foil
tombstone
Rhyton, c. late 600s–early 700s. Central Asia (Sogdiana) or Tibet. Silver with gilded foil; overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.); . The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Clara Taplin Rankin, 1988.67.3
collection
Tibetan Art
formerAccessionNumbers
1988.69
didYouKnow
This drinking horn was a communal vessel which guests would pass around to share wine at parties.
citations
citation
“The Year in Review for 1988.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 76, no. 2 (February 1989): 30–75.
page_number
Mentioned: cat. no. 231–233, p. 75; Reproduced: cat. no. 231–233, p. 51
citation
Czuma, Stan. "Museum Acquisitions and Notes." <em>Bulletin of the Asia Institute</em> vol. 5 (1991), 190.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 190
citation
“Recent Acquisitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art II: Departments of Asian Art: Supplement.” <em>The Burlington Magazine</em> 133, no. 1059 (June 1991): 417–424.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 419, fig. VIII
citation
Czuma, Stanislaw J. "Some Tibetan and Tibet-Related Acquisitions of the Cleveland Museum of Art." <em>Oriental Art</em>, winter 1992/3, vol. 38, no. 4.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 231; Reproduced: p. 232.
citation
Czuma, Stan. "Tibetan Silver Vessels." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 80, no. 4 (April 1993): 131–135.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 134; Mentioned: pp. 131–135
citation
Carter, Martha L. "Three Silver Vessels from Tibet's Earliest Historical Era: A Preliminary Study." <em>Cleveland Studies in the History of Art </em>3 (1998) 22-47.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 22-31, figs. 1-9c
citation
Heller, Amy. <em>Tibetan Art: Tracing the Development of Spiritual Ideals and Art in Tibet, 600-2000 A.D</em>. Milano, Italy; Woodbridge, England: Jaca Book; Antique Collectors’ Club, 1999.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 8 and 11, pls. 3, 4, 13, and 14.
citation
Christman, Bruce. "Three Gilded Tibetan Vessels." In <em>Gilded Metals: History, Technology and Conservation</em>. Terry Drayman-Weisser, ed. London: Archetype Publications Ltd. in association with the American Institute of Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, 2000.
page_number
Reproduced: fig. 10.1, p. 169; fig. 10.3, p. 172
citation
"Silk Road Art and Archaeology." <em>Silk Road art and archaeology: journal of the Institute of Silk Road Studies, Kamakura</em>, vol. 9 (2003).
page_number
Reproduced: fig. 17, p. 224
citation
Huo, Wei. “A Study of Ancient Tibetan Gold and Silver Ware.” <em>Chinese Archaeology</em> 12, no. 1 (November 2012): 165–74. doi:10.1515/char-2012-0020.
citation
Heller, Amy. “Tibetan Inscriptions on Ancient silver and gold Vessels and Artefacts.” <em>Journal of the International Association for Bon Research</em>, vol 1. (2013). Mentioned: footnote 38, p. 274; pp. 276–8. Reproduced: p. 277.
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 216
citation
Kosmin, Paul. "Banqueting on the Move." In <em>Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings</em>. Susanne Ebbinghaus, ed., 310-341. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Art Museums, 2018.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 338, p. 384, cat. no. 62
citation
Debreczeny, Karl. <em>Faith and Empire: Art and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism</em>. New York, NY: Rubin Museum of Art, 2019.
page_number
Reproduced: fig. 3.5, pp. 8-9 and p. 76
citation
Pritzker, David Thomas and Wang Xudong 王旭东, editors. <em>Cultural Exchange along the Silk Road: Masterpieces of the Tubo Period (7th-9th Century) </em>= 丝绸之路上的文化交流 : 吐蕃时期艺术珍品. Beijing: 中国藏学出版社 [China Tibetology Publishing House], 2020.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 15, p. 31 (vase only)
citation
Heller, Amy. “Silver Jug: Ceremonial Banquet Vessels in Silver and Gold,” <em>Project Himalayan Art</em>, Rubin Museum of Art, 2023, https://rubinmuseum.org/projecthimalayanart/essays/silver-jug/.
citation
Heller, Amy. “Silver Jug: Ceremonial Banquet Vessels in Silver and Gold.” <em>Project Himalayan Art, </em>Rubin Museum of Art, 2023.
page_number
Reproduced: fig. 5 and fig. 6 (cup only)
creditline
Gift of Mrs. Clara Taplin Rankin
sketchfabId
4848ad09914c491b873d61d493624cd4
updatedAt
2026-06-18 22:00:36.861000
sourceId
154258
dept
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
coll
Tibetan Art
med
silver with gilded foil
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
d86dc4e07eae8902