Italo-Greek, Southern Italy, Likely Tarentum

The Greek colony of Tarentum in Southern Italy specialized in the production of drinking cups called rhyta. This terracotta vessel, like other Tarentine rhyta, is more fragile than examples from mainland Greece and was most likely intended for funerary purposes. Although animals were a common choice for depiction in these molded vessels, the bull carried special significance in Southern Italy, where Dionysus was worshipped in the form of a bull as both the god of wine and the favored god of the underworld. The painted satyr on the body of this rhyton also carries Dionysiac attributes and is a follower of the underworld god, suggesting that this vessel was intended for ceremonial use.