ID: 700000131 Page link: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/cona/700000131	Record Type: Movable Work
Images: 1 2

Stag Rhyton (rhyton; unknown Parthian ; 50 BCE/ 50 CE; J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa (Malibu, Los Angeles...; 86.AM.753)

Note: Stylistic features suggest that this rhyton was made in northwest Iran in the period from 50 B.C. to A.D. 50. This region had been part of the Achaemenid Persian Empire until Alexander the Great's conquest. After his death in 323 B.C., the Hellenistic Greek Seleucid dynasty, whose kingdom stretched from Turkey to Afghanistan, ruled this area. The forepart of a stag emerges from the curving body of this gilt silver rhyton. The stag is very naturalistic and highly detailed, down to the rendering of veins in the snout. The wide inlaid eyes and the outstretched legs heighten the realism as the stag seemingly bolts in flight. The term rhyton comes from the Greek verb meaning "to run through," and depictions of rhyta on Greek vases show that they were used to aerate wine. Wine poured into the top of the vessel came out of a spout between the animal's legs. The spout on this example is now missing, but the hole remains visible. As Seleucid authority began to weaken In the later 200s B.C., a group of semi-nomadic people called the Parthians, from the steppes of south central Asia, challenged the dynasty and by the mid-100s B.C. had firm control of this area of Iran. This complicated political history left its legacy in the art of the area. Rhyta of this form had a long history in earlier art of Iran, but the floral motifs were drawn from Seleucid art.

Titles:

Stag Rhyton (preferred,C,U,RP,English-P,U,N)

Stag-Shaped Drinking Horn (C,U,DE,English,U,N)

Catalog Level: item

Work Types:

rhyton [300198841] (preferred)

..... (Objects Facet, Furnishings and Equipment (hierarchy name), Containers (hierarchy name), containers (receptacles), <containers by function or context>, culinary containers, <containers for serving and consuming food>, <vessels for serving and consuming food>, drinking vessels)

Classifications:

Near Eastern art (preferred)

Ancient Greek art

Creation Date: 50 BCE/ 50 CE

Creator Display:

unknown Parthian [preferred,VP]

silversmith unknown Parthian (Parthian cultural designation) [500204034]

Locations:

Current: J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa (Malibu, Los Angeles county, California, United States) [500125181] J. Paul Getty Museum, J. Paul Getty Trust, Corporate Bodies (Corp. Body)

Repository Numbers: 86.AM.753

Other: Creation: Eastern Seleucid Empire [8712109] Seleucid Kingdom (former nation/state/empire), World (facet) (Geographic)

Display Materials: Gilt silver, garnet, glass: gilt silver with inlaid glass eyes and garnet rim

	silver (metal) [300011029]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by composition>, inorganic material, metal, <metal by composition or origin>, nonferrous metal, <silver| silver compounds| alloys>)

	gold (metal) [300011021]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by composition>, inorganic material, metal, <metal by composition or origin>, nonferrous metal, <gold and gold alloy>)

	glass (material) [300010797]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by composition>, inorganic material)

	garnet (mineral) [300011097]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by composition>, inorganic material, mineral)

	silver gilding [300380110]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by composition>, inorganic material, metal, <metal by form>, plate (material), <plate by material>)

Dimensions: 27.5 × 46 × 12.7 cm (10 13/16 × 18 1/8 × 5 in.)

Cultures:

Parthian (preferred)

Style/Period/Group/Movement:

	Parthian [300019967] (preferred,N/A)
	.....(Styles and Periods Facet, Styles and Periods (hierarchy name), <styles| periods| and cultures by region>, Early Western World, Near Eastern (Early Western World), Persian (culture), Persian periods (style))

General Subject:

utilitarian objects (preferred)

ceremonial objects

animals

Specific Subjects:

	stag [300250314]
	.....(Agents Facet, Living Organisms (hierarchy name), living organisms (entities), Eukaryota (domain), Animalia (kingdom), Chordata (phylum), Vertebrata (subphylum), Mammalia (class), <mammals by sex or age>) (AAT)

	drinking [300379698]
	.....(Activities Facet, Physical and Mental Activities (hierarchy name), physical activities, <physical activities by specific context>, <personal and passive activities>) (AAT)

Copyright: The J.Paul Getty Trust. All Rights Reserved.

Inscriptions: Aramaic inscription on the belly of the stag dedicates the rhyton to Artemis.

List/Hierarchical Position:

..... Movable Works

.......... Movable Works by class: decorative and utilitarian works

Sources and Contributors:
Stag Rhyton	........ [VP,JPGM]
	........ J. Paul Getty Museum, collections online (2000-) accessed 7 March 2018
Stag-Shaped Drinking Horn	........ [VP]
	........ J. Paul Getty Museum, collections online (2000-)

Subject: ....... [VP]

....................... J. Paul Getty Museum, collections online (2000-) http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/12859/unknown-maker-stag-rhyton-near-eastern-parthian-100-1-bc/

Note:
English	..... [JPGM]
	..... J. Paul Getty Museum database for collections (2000-) accessed 21 July 2006