The base of this one-handled mug was modeled into the shape of a lion with a threatening, open-jawed mouth. The mug does not have a hole in the bottom and is therefore to be distinguished from a rhyton, which often has a base shaped like an animal's head but is always perforated. Both types of vessel may have been used for making libations, for a mug that is similar to this one has been found with an inscription indicating that it was offered to a god. This vessel was most certainly intended for some special purpose, since the orbits of the lion's eyes once held an inlaid material, which has since disappeared.
Provenance: Ras Shamra - Ugarit.
Era: Late Bronze Age (circa 1300 BC).
Dimensions: 16.2 x 14.5 cm.
Photo: Jacques Lessard.
A collection of the National Museum of Damascus.
Michel Fortin, Syria, Land of Civilization. Les Éditions de l'Homme, Musée de la Civilisation de Québec 1999.
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