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Collection record · Objects & craft

Kottabos Element of a Dancing Satyr

The collection record classifies this work as sculpture. It is dated 470–450 BCE. Recorded culture or place: Etruscan.

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OBJECT RECORD

A closer look at the details.

Museum title
Kottabos Element of a Dancing Satyr
Date
470–450 BCE
Culture / origin
Etruscan
Materials and technique
bronze
Dimensions
Overall: 15 cm (5 7/8 in.)
Artist / maker
Not specified by the museum
Museum
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Accession number
1974.16

FROM THE MUSEUM

In the museum’s words

The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.

This diminutive dancing satyr, identifiable by his snub nose and equine ears (though without a tail), lifts his leg and reaches with an upstretched arm toward a dish, now lost. The disc and cylinder on which he stands likely rested atop a much taller post, with a larger disc or dish below, as preserved in more complete examples and illustrated on numerous ancient vases. In the drinking game kottabos, known by its Greek name but also popular in Etruria, the goal was to knock a dish off its precarious perch, in this case the hand of the dancing satyr, using only the wine dregs in your cup.

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Text and image sources

The Cleveland Museum of Art · Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund · CC0

The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.

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