Scientific Analysis Report: A thermoluminescence analysis report issued by Oxford Authentication on 11 July 2024, based on sample number N124f88, sets the firing date of one sample, taken from under the top rim, between 800 and 1300 years ago, consistent with the dating above. A second sample was taken from an area of restoration and was fired less than hundred years ago. A third sample consisted of unfired material which cannot be dated. A copy of the report accompanies this lot.

Iran, probably Parthian or Sasanian. Of trumpet form, terminating in the forequarters of a ram with curling horns, slit-like mouth, applied circular eyes, all painted with a red slip, the back of the ribbed vessel pierced with a geometric pattern. With a fine, ancient patina overall.

Provenance: New York trade, acquired from an old private collection in Manhattan.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, firing irregularities, signs of weathering and erosion, flaking to the slip, minor losses, few chips, tiny nicks, encrustations, old repairs. Minuscule drilled holes from sample-taking.

Weight: 3,381 g
Dimensions: Height 43 cm

The rhyton first appeared in Iran in the 4th Millennium BC and continued to be used throughout the pre-Islamic period. An 11^th century Persian dictionary gives the definition of the rhyton as 'a bull or cow formed of pottery, gold or other materials used for the drinking of wine'. However, Hittite texts found in Turkey (circa 1450-1200 B.C.) refer to the use of animal-shaped rhytons for making ritual libations of wine or beer to certain deities. It is quite possible that rhytons were used for both purposes and that deities were being made offerings of drink in imitation of everyday domestic meals.

Rhyta in the Achaemenid Empire combined the older Near Eastern traditions of animal-headed beakers and Iranian traditions of animal-shaped vessels. They were used at royal banquets, where the Persian king displayed his wealth and power, and the ability to drink skillfully from a rhyton marked one as a member of the elite who were invited to such banquets.

By the mid-first millennium BC, Medes, Persians, and Parthians populated the Iranian plateau. Until the rise of the Medes, they all remained under Assyrian domination, like the rest of the Near East. The first genuine Parthian art, found at Mithridatkert, combined elements of Greek and Iranian art in line with Achaemenid and Seleucid traditions. Parthian architecture adopted elements of Achaemenid and Greek architecture, but remained distinct from the two. Parthian and Sasanian craftsmen also created highly elaborate and naturalistic rhytons from a wide range of materials.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related ceramic rhyton with a female head from Mesopotamia, dated to the 3^rd century AD, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 2001.178.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams London, 30 September 2015, lot 69
Price: GBP 11,250 or approx. EUR 20,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Persian terracotta stag rhyton, circa 1^st millennium BC
Expert remark: Compare the related form, modeling, and subject. Note the size (26.5 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s London, 3 July 2018, lot 43
Price: GBP 25,000 or approx. EUR 40,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A late Parthian or early Sasanian turquoise glazed pottery rhyton, circa 3^rd century AD
Expert remark: Compare the related form. Note this lot is made of glazed pottery. Note the size (35.5 cm).