“ANCIENT DRINKING AND LIBATION VESSELS”
Sadberk Hanım Museum Collection
8 December 2007-30 March 2008
Vehbi Koç Foundation’s Sadberk Hanım Museum has hosted an exhibition between
8 December 2007-30 March 2008 on Ancient Drinking and Libation Vessels. The
artefacts of the exhibition that reflected the drinking and presentation culture of the
pre-Byzantine era were from Sadberk Hanım Museum’s own collection.
Despite the uncertainty of the first time and place of brewing beer, the very first
alcoholic drink that the human being has ever produced, both beer and bread were
the coinciding and inalienable elements of the progress the humanity has recorded.
Despite the disagreements on which civilisation produced beer first, scientists agree
on the documents that belonged to Sumerians. However, according to some
opinions, beer, as the first alcoholic drink, came out of Palestine approximately 10
millenniums ago.
In due course, humanity discovered the method of fermenting grapes and producing
another alcoholic drink, namely, wine. The production of wine is backdated to 5,4005,000 BC by analysing the remnants in a clay pot around Haci Firuz Hills of Northern
Zagros Mountains.
Water, beer and wine have always been some of the most consumed drinks as well
as were offered to gods as holy beverages. Discovered samples indicate that with the
exception of water, the crockery that beer and wine were preserved have always had
special designs. The exhibition included a large number of samples that were used
during containing, serving and drinking liquids and made out of terracotta, metals and
glass in various regions of Anatolia and Aegean civilisations. The utensils that
belonged to the Classical era were catalogued in three sections; serving, drinking
and offering of drinks. Whilst tankards, depas’ and chalices were utensils for drinking,
shamrock style pitchers were used for offering. In addition, there were utensils for
offering as well as being used for serving, which were primarily beak shaped pitchers,
askos’, rhytons and omphalos’.
During the Hellenistic and Roman eras terracotta cups were often used in daily lives
as well as for serving water and wine. However, according to the status and wealth,
often utensils made out of precious metals such as golden, silver and bronze were
also used to symbolise status. During the Roman era glass was also employed in
producing the said utensils.