Representations of sexual acts are widely found in Roman art, although surviving male-female scenes greatly outnumber same-sex couples.

It cannot be assumed that homoerotic art was uncommon as the modern record may be biased due to selective destruction or non-publication of pederastic works in later times.

[6][8] The other side depicts another scene of anal sex, between a "beardless" and clean-shaven "young man" and a smaller figure with long hair indicating he is a "boy" or "adolescent" (now the "eromenos").

The sex act is presented in graphic detail, and the "beardless youth" appears to encourage the penetration, grasping his lover's arm.

In Roman artwork there is an assumption that the penetrated youth is a slave or prostitute and on the Warren Cup, a mutual tenderness is represented.

[13][14] These, along with the careful delineation of ages and status and the wreaths worn by the youths, all suggest a cultured, elite, Hellenized setting with music and entertainment.

[18][19][20] It was bought in Jerusalem and said to have been found near the city in Battir[21] (ancient Betar), with coins of the emperor Claudius, possibly buried during the upheavals of the Jewish Revolt.

About 50 years later, the Roman occupation of Jerusalem sparked tensions between the rulers and the Jewish community, and in AD 66 that exploded and the Jews took back the city by force.

[18] The first publication featuring the cup was in 1921, when Gaston Vorberg published a volume of 113 plates of erotic artwork from ancient artefacts.

[6][22] The cup was included in Warren's book A defence of Uranian Love, first published in 1928 under his pseudonym of Arthur Lyon Raile.

[18] In February 1953 it was posted by Thomas to Walter Baker, however US Customs impounded the box requiring a decision from Washington as to whether to admit it or to prohibit it as pornography.

[29][32] John R. Clarke, Professor in Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, has approximated the dating of the cup with similarly styled objects found in Pompeii, due to the lack of archaeological context.

[35] Subsequent testing in 2015 of the inside repoussé shelf and the reverse of the liner, neither of which had been cleaned, found substantial silver chloride corrosion.

[40] Luca Giuliani, a professor of Classical Archaeology at Humboldt University, initially also argued on iconographic grounds that the Warren Cup was likely to be a twentieth-century forgery.

It is thought that the cup was moulded twice in modern times due to remains of plaster and silicone rubber found in crevices.

[6][45] It was the subject of a devoted exhibition in Room 3 at the British Museum from 11 May to 2 July 2006, entitled "The Warren Cup: Sex and society in ancient Greece and Rome."

[28] In 2011 (January to April) it was lent to the University of Nottingham for an exhibition in the Weston Gallery titled "Roman Sexuality: Images, Myths and Meanings.