A FEAST EATING OR A SACRIFICIAL SET
The manner of production and the type of ornamentation of the vessels are of great interest. The first of the rhytons is decorated with a beautiful torso (front part) of a horse. It is made in a plastic and realistic way, which can be seen in the individual details (the eyes, the nostrils, the mane). Under the abdomen of the horse there is an inscription in classical Greek, which reads: "From Cotis to Beo."
The second rhyton is not less interesting. It is decorated with the image of a winged sphinx, an exact replica of the sphinx on the first one. It is again surrounded by decorative elements: ovals, pearls, ivy leaves and a bird perched on them. An inscription cut with small dots onto the surface again repeats the one on the first rhyton.
The third rhyton is decorated with the figure of a bull and differs from the first two. It has similar decorative row of details, mostly animal figures, which leads us to a Persian artistic influence. This has contributed to the mixture of realistic stylistic details with purely realistic ones.
Very interesting is the shallow plate put on a cone-like stand. It has two massive handles to which are welded the heads of satyrs (mythical forest creatures from the suite of god Dionysus). They have beards, mustaches and curly hair. Their mouths are open, the nose is broad, and they have animal ears. The bottom of the vessels contains a scene with convex form - a doe attacked by a griffin with a bird's head. This is a motif well known from other Thracian monuments. The modeling is very familiar and expresses perfectly the dynamics of the movement of the two animals.
The last vessel is an amphora-like decanter (now lost) with a handle. On it, in a number of circles, are presented different scenes. In the one we have three flying swans with elegant necks, facing each other. The next circle is full of scenes from the Dionysus cult. Of exceptional artistic perfection are two central figures of a man and a woman holding a snake in her hands. The man has long hair and long beard, on his head there is an ivy wreath out of which shows another snake. This is undoubtedly Dionysus. It is interesting that next to him we see a second man lying on a lion's skin and this is no doubt Heracles, after his fight with the lion. This mythical half-god half-man is holding in his hands rhytons similar to those on the other three vessels in the treasure (decorated with a griffin and a sphinx).
