South Italian Terracotta Rhyton in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, June 2010

Terracotta rhyton (vase for libations or drinking)
Greek, South Italian, Apulian, red-figure, ca. 350-300 BC
Head of a dog. On the cup, a running satyr.

Accession # 41.162.249

The earliest animal-head rhyta were mechanical copies or freely-modeled adaptations of Attic imports. Since there is no opening in the hound's mouth for liquid to flow through, the function of the object was probably funerary.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.