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Terracotta with polychrome, H 7 ½ inches

Lion-Shaped Rhyton (Libation Vessel)

Kültepe (Anatolian), Assyrian Colony period, ca. 1860–1780 B.C.

This highly stylized, lion-shaped terracotta vessel, with a tall spout on its back and pierced nostrils for pouring, comes from Kanish (Kültepe in Cappadocia). The Anatolians produced remarkable animal-shaped vessels during this extraordinary period in the history of ancient Turkey.

Gift of the Queen of Greece through Alma de Bretteville Spreckels

1924.15