This small Bucchero vase has been variously interpreted as a toy, a small jug, and an inkstand. It was used certainly as a container, with the head serving as a cork. The small ring on its back shows that the vessel was either suspended or carried. The tail of the cock, now missing, most likely curved downward to form a third foot. In addition to the decoration incised on the head and body, twenty-six letters of the Etruscan alphabet are inscribed on the belly of the vessel.

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