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Ancient Greek

Rhyton (Drinking Vessel) in the Shape of a Donkey Head

480-470 BCE
terracotta, red-figure
20 × 9.3 cm (7.9 × 3.7 in)

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● On view now — Gallery 151

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · verified July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This drinking cup could not have been set down without its contents spilling. It is fashioned after the head of a bridled donkey with a white muzzle, teeth, and ears. Like the naked satyr chasing a fleeing maenad on the vessel’s neck, the donkey belongs to the retinue of the wine god Dionysos.

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