Minoan Bull's Head Rhyton in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2007

Terracotta vase in the form of a bull's head
Minoan, Late Minoan II, 1450-1400 BC

Accession # 1973.35

This vase is a type of rhyton, or libation vase. The offering was poured through the hole in the animal's muzzle. The vase was filled either by immersion in a large container or through the hole on the head. Using the principle of the siphon, liquid would not flow out as long as the opening at the top was closed with the thumb.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.