Drinking cup in the shape of a fist, MFA, Boston
Text from museum placard:
Drinking cup in the shape of a fist
Central Turkey, Hittite, probably reign of Tudhaliyas III, about 1400-1380 B.C.
Silver
Surviving Hittite objects in precious metal are very rare. This cup was evidently used for rituals connected with the weather god, Tarhuna, who appears holding a bull in the frieze around the rim. The named donor of the cup was "Great King Tudhaliyas," who is shown leading priests and musicians from a city over a mountain, personified as a human figure covered with leaves. The fist shape probably evoked a Hittite hieroglyph meaning "strength," and the cup may have been presented to the god so that he would grant strength to the royal donor when the contents were drunk.
Gift of Landon and Lavinia Clay in honor of Malcolm Rogers, 2004 2004.2230
www.mfa.org/collections/object/drinking-vessel-in-the-sha...