Rhyta are among the most appealing yet enigmatic classes of artefacts from the Aegean Bronze Age. They were produced in a wide range of forms and media with a consistently high degree of craftsmanship. This comprehensive study of Bronze Age rhyta from the Aegean builds on nearly a century of discoveries and scholarly contributions, and addresses questions of typology, function, context, and the uses of these vessels. The volume includes a thoroughly illustrated catalogue, an index of sites and the present locations of rhyta.

Contributions by 34 scholars are brought together here to create a volume in honour of the long and fruitful career of Guenter Kopcke who is the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Articles pertain to various topics on the ancient art, architecture, and archaeology of the greater Eastern Mediterranean region: from Pre-Dynastic Egypt to the Bronze Age Aegean and Anatolia, Cyprus and the Near East, and Etruscan Italy.

The papers published here are dedicated to the memory of Ellen N. Davis, one of the most valued and beloved Aegean scholars of her generation. All of the articles are in some way inspired or influenced by Davis' own contributions to the field. In the area of metalwork, several papers investigate interconnections within and around the Aegean during the Early, Middle and Late Bronze Ages (Betancourt, Ferrence and Muhly, Weingarten, Kopcke), while others examine metal ware in its social context (Wiener). Papers on wall painting range from studies of pigments and optical illusions (Vlachopoulos),...