Apulian Red Figure Fish Plate
4th century BCE
Italy
Ceramic
L2001.443-5
This plate is typical of painted ceramics from Apulia, a region of southern Italy, between about 430-300 BCE. During this period many Greek potters and painters immigrated to the region, so the forms and motifs were heavily influenced by Greek styles. The recessed well in the center was meant for fish sauce.
Birds with Foliage
late 4th-mid 5th century
Turkey
Mosaic
69.49.1
Scrolls of vine and acanthus leaves enclosing human or animal forms, called rinceaux, were frequently used in the borders of large mosaic compositions. The rinceaux in this mosaic segment include birds, symbolizing the soul, and pomegranates, referring to the annual return of spring and therefore the Christian hope in immortality and resurrection.
Black-Figure Neck Amphora
Attributed to the Painter of Vatican 359
c. 540 BCE
Slip-glazed earthenware
Greece
57.1
This massive amphora, used for carrying wine or oil, recalls the works of the great Exekias. The figures, although lacking the refinement found in those he painted, exhibit this master's distinctive style, which others in his workshop copied.
The front shows a quadriga, or four-horse chariot, at rest. Standing inside are Poseidon, holding a trident, and his wife, Amphitrite. An unidentified goddess, perhaps Athena, and Hermes, who holds a caduceus, or symbolic staff, stand beside the chariot. The scene may depict the gods and goddesses preparing to depart for an Olympian council or for the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.
Caduceus
2nd century
Bronze
Roman
2000.64
A winged rod with two snakes twined around it is an ancient emblem of messengers. Originating in Middle Eastern cultures such as Babylonia (in present-day Iraq), it became an attribute of Hermes, the Greek god of commerce and communication, and of Hermes’ Roman counterpart, Mercury. In Roman myth, Mercury threw his staff at two snakes fighting on the ground, which then ceased fighting and became affixed to the staff.
The caduceus is often mistaken for the staff of Asclepius, the ancient Greek god of medicine and healing. Asclepius’ staff has a single twining snake and lacks wings. Although the caduceus has been used internationally as a symbol of the medical profession, only the staff of Asclepius is technically correct.
Corinthian helmet
Unknown Greek
c. 540 BCE
Greece
Bronze
2001.80.1
This magnificent bronze helmet is an exceptional example of Corinthian personal armor. It is skillfully beaten from a single sheet of bronze. Developed in the early 600's BCE, the "Corinthian style" helmet had no ear holes, but had a cap-shaped crown, solid nose guard, and flared cheek pieces. For display and further protection, a horsehair crest would have been attached to the top of the crown ridge. Small holes pierced along this ridge would have been used to secure the missing crest. Away from combat, the helmet could be pushed up to rest above the face. A typical set of Greek armor from this period also included a bronze breastplate and metal shin guards called greaves. The pure abstract form, simple curvilinear eyebrows, and restrained floral décor make this an especially beautiful, utilitarian object.
Crouching Lion
330-317 BCE
Greece
Pentellic marble
25.25
Although the ancient Greeks used a variety of animals, including bulls, griffins and lions, to decorate tombs, lions were the most popular, typically functioning as guardian figures.
This sculpture illustrates the difficulty in using style to date a work. The Classical period in Greek sculpture, ending in 323 B.C. with the death of Alexander the Great, emphasized accuracy of physical details, as shown here in the veins and musculature of the feline body. However, the tufted mane, furrowed brow and facial features are more typical of the succeeding Hellenistic period, known for its greater expressiveness and variety of sculptural poses.
Cupid with a Hydria
1st century
Roman
Marble
2005.149
Eros was the Greek god of love; his Roman parallel was Cupid. Eros began as a violent and cruel god, representing uncontrollable physical desire. As depicted in works of art, however, Eros gradually grew younger and, by Hellenistic times, had become a little child. His familiar image as a winged child armed with bow and arrow began to develop in the 4th century BCE. The artist has used delicate modeling to describe the figure's childlike physique.
The figure holds a large hydria (water jar) on his left shoulder. The theme of Cupid carrying a hydria was a standard element of Roman fountain sculpture. A boss on the back indicates that this figure originally was attached to another element, perhaps another figure, forming part of an elaborate fountain composition.
Dionysus on a Donkey
2nd century
Roman
Marble
63.41
Double Cosmetic Tube with Three-tiered Handle
5th century
Roman Empire
Blown blue-green glass
2003.118.2
Elephant Attacking a Feline
late 4th-mid 5th century
Turkey
Mosaic
69.49.2
Animal combat is a Near Eastern theme which entered early into Greek and later Roman art. The introduction of large-scale animal compositions was an important innovation in mosaic decoration, possibly stimulated by circus spectacles. In the fourth century A.D. pavement mosaics of hunting scenes were installed in the villa of Constantine the Great in Antioch, setting an important local precedent.
In this fragment of a larger scene, the elephant appears to be somersaulting the tiger with his trunk. The two animals are flattened and generalized into a linear surface pattern, with little attempt at anatomical accuracy. The Romans associated the African elephant with military victory, while tradition held that the tiger, a native of Asia, gave his name to theTigris river. Although this mosaic formed part of a pavement in an Early Christian church, any eventual religious significance of the animals remains obscure, and may not have been intended.
Female Figure
c. 2500-2400 BCE
Cycladic
Greece
Marble
62.52
This female figure comes from the Cyclades, a chain of islands off the coast of mainland Greece. Scholars classify it among the late Spedos variety, so named after the Bronze Age cemetery where a number of such sculptures were discovered. Examples have been found only on the Cycladic islands of Naxos and Keros. Identifying features include a deep groove separating the legs, individually carved feet, and minimal incised details. Although their exact function is unknown, these abstract stone forms may have been fertility figures or served other religious purposes in life, or perhaps were objects made exclusively for the grave.
Foliate Sieve
late 4th or early 3rd century BCE
Ancient Greek
Silver
72.103
This elegant ladle and sieve in the form of a grape leaf were used to strain particulates (skins, seeds, and stems) from and to serve wine. They were found together in Arcarnania, in southwestern Greece. The Greeks mixed their wine with water, and regarded the consumption of undiluted wine as uncivilized.
Hydria
Attributed to the Antimenes Painter
c. 530 BCE
Greece
Slip-glazed earthenware
61.59
The Antimenes Painter was active in Athens in the late 6th century BCE and specialized in decorating large pots, like this hydria, or water jar. In the main scene the goddess Athena, painted white to indicate her gender, helps harness her four-horse chariot, assisted by several grooms and the bearded charioteer. This harnessing technique accurately reflects practices in the period. The appearance of Athena dressed for war may refer to her legendary invention of the war chariot or perhaps to an episode from "The Iliad." The scene on the shoulder of the vase depicts Zeus, the central figure, intervening in the fight between Heracles (on Zeus' right) and Cycnus (on his left). This divine battle occurred because Cycnus stole the sacrificial animals of the god Apollo.
Oil Lamp
1st century BCE - 1st century CE
Bronze
Italy
99.84.1
Standing Deity Holding Horn and Bucket
1st century
Italy
Fresco
79.21
This panel comes from Pompeii, a prosperous city in southern Italy destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 and only rediscovered in 1748. It is a fragment of a larger wall painting removed during a 19th-century excavation.
The figure probably represents a Lar, a Roman ancestral god honored as a guardian of the family’s welfare, and worshiped in a household shrine called a lararium. The god carries a drinking horn and a wine bucket, and wears a short, swirling cloak, all traditional attributes of a Lar. His pose indicates that he appeared as one of several figures in a horizontal mural within a lararium.
The inner walls of Pompeiian houses were richly decorated with paintings executed in fresco, a water-based tempera technique. The composition was drawn directly into a layer of damp lime plaster with pigments derived from mineral, vegetable and animal sources. The colors became bound to the plaster as it dried, and the work remained an integral part of the wall surface.
The Tiber Muse
2nd-1st century BCE
Italy
Marble
56.12
Although discovered in the vicinity of the Tiber river in Rome in 1885, the style of this statue's drapery suggests that it originated in a workshop in Greece or Asia Minor. The Roman importation and copying of Greek sculpture are well documented, from the time of the Roman conquests of Greeks territories in the third century B.C. and throughout the imperial era (27 B.C.-about 395 A.D.). The public exhibition of Greek spoils encouraged Romans to collect Greek art and commission new works in similar styles. Displaying statuary of Greek origin or appearance eventually became a mark of one's social status and education.
Tondo: Portrait of a Young Noblewoman
2nd century
Roman
Marble
68.9.4
The half-figure relief was a common form used for Roman funerary sculpture. Here the deceased is depicted with a veil over her head signifying piety. Holes drilled in her ear lobes show that this figure once wore earrings which, together with the large size of the relief, indicate that the deceased came from a wealthy family.
During the century following the reign of the emperor Augustus (27 B.C.-14 A.D.) the depiction of a maternal figure was also a moral statement, reflecting his program aimed at restoring ancient Roman virtues. A series of laws were passed to promote good moral behavior and to encourage marriage, curb adultery and divorce, and increase the birth rate.
Venus
4th century
Roman
Silver, traces of gilding
69.84
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