Achaemenid Gold Rhyton

Rhyton consisting of two main components, a conical recipient and a winged animal that forms the base. The conical vessel tapering into a small ring foot is decorated by delicate filigree tracery and divided into thirteen horizontal bands; starting from the rim downwards, the first band contains a geometric decoration of spirals; then a band with four stylised human faces situated between two horned animals in the symmetrical motif of the confronted-animal pose; a string of regular zig-zag lines; then a series of nine bands decorated by gold filigree wire forming an irregular scrollwork-like pattern, finally terminating into a band with a series of peacock-eye ornamentations in a row. The foot of the rhyton has been modeled into the head and forequarters of a mythological winged animal with a pair of gathered wings attached to the body and extending backwards on either side; two graceful curving horns spring from its forehead close to a couple of naturalistic ears; round eyes decorated on the upper lid by five granulated spherules; open mouth with three teeth on the upper and three more on the lower jaw; stirring tongue in full view, as if the creature is emitting an extremely piercing sound. Front paws rigidly extending forwards, with a set of minuscule nails under the paws. This elaborate and magnificent gold vessel is a remarkable example of small-scale art of the Achaemenid court. The Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550–330 BC) was founded by Cyrus the Great and by embracing various civilizations became the largest empire in ancient history, spanning during its maximum extend from the Balkans and Eastern Europe to the Indus Valley. It was an empire evidently progressive for its time, by adopting the hugely successful model of a centralised bureaucratic administration and by including a government working to the profit of its subjects, it progressively built an organised and efficient infrastructure which included the creation of a postal system, the construction of highways, the use of an official language across its territories and the employment of civil servants and of a large professional army. The Achaemenid animal-shaped rhyta are part of a continuity of a tradition stemming from the Iron Age. The use of precious metals to fabricate rhyta though was an example of the increasing significance of gold during the Achaemenid Empire. The affluence of the Royal Court allowed for the use of gold to create the rhyton, whereas most other rhyta were made from less valuable components. The wealth of the state made gold an appropriate material for the production of a vessel which was destined to be used during royal court libations. A rhyton (plural rhyta) is a container from which fluids were intended to be drunk or to be poured during a cult ceremony. Similar in form to, and perhaps originating from, the drinking horn, it has been widespread over Eurasia since the prehistoric times. The conical rhyton form has been known in the Aegean region since the Bronze Age. However it was by no means confined to that region. It is worth mentioning that rhyta had already existed as an unquestioned symbol of luxury in the ancient Near and Middle East, discovered among the remains of civilizations speaking different languages from the second millennium BC. Rhyta were often shaped like animals’ heads or horns and were very ornate, compounded with precious metals and stones. The horn-shaped rhyton terminating in an animal’s head was a particularly distinctive Achaemenid form. While a wide variety of styles and forms existed throughout the Achaemenid empire, because of its great size, the elegant, widely diffused horn-shaped rhyton became a favorite of an earlier official Achaemenid court style. In due course this type was eclipsed by animal-head rhyta. In fact, the animal protome rhyton may very well have come into vogue at some point during the first two decades of the 5th century BC., becoming hugely popular in gold and in silver. Rare examples in glass are also known. Later in Achaemenid period the rhytons with an animal head at the end of the vessel had the animal part of the rhyton transposed in the frontal part to a 90 degree angle in relation to the vessel itself. Thus the animal protome rhyton gradually became the elite hallmark symbol of a refined Achaemenid taste until the extinction of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great. Although vessels of this type are not depicted on the reliefs of Persepolis, they are shown in use on Greek vases of the late fifth century BC. The ancient Persian and Greek cultures did not exist in isolation between them and among the rest of the Mediterranean civilisations there was great artistic cross-fertilization. As the antagonism for power during the Greco-Persian Wars ended in a victory for the Greek side, a vast quantity of items in silver and gold were triumphantly brought to Athens, including numerous rhyta. Persian rhyta were immediately and largely imitated by Greek artists, especially ceramists. This miniature rhyton, in spite of it size, or very probably because of it, is a true masterpiece of the goldsmith art of its era. – (LM.82)