Greek And Roman Art | The Met

While the ancient and the modern worlds seem far apart, one category of objects, jewelry, has not changed that much since antiquity, lending ancient jewelry an appeal that few other artifacts possess (image 1). However, the public fascination for ancient jewelry, fueled by widely reported archaeological discoveries of ancient gold, have often reflected modern, often gendered preconceptions rather than historical realities. Indeed, women have repeatedly been made to wear ancient jewelry sets found in important grave sites. For example, a set of 5th century BCE gold jewelry (40.11.7–.18, see image 2), which was found in an Etruscan tomb from the ancient city of Vulci (Italy) and acquired by the Met in 1940, was publicized by having a beautiful lady wear the jewelry (image 3). The trend had originated in the early days of archaeology, when Heinrich Schliemann, who first dug at Troy (modern Turkey), decked out his wife Sophia in “Priam’s treasure” found in 1873 (image 4). Around 1912-1915, the extra-ordinarily rich treasures of the so-called princess “Larthia”, found in her 7th century BCE tomb in the Etruscan city of Cerveteri, were donned by an Italian model and immortalized in a dramatic photography (image 5), which was rediscovered by Dr Maurizio Sannibale, curator in the Vatican Museums. While such displays play on stereotypical expressions of both ancient and modern femininity, they are important testimony to the enduring appeal of ancient material culture. Image 1: patchwork of images 3-5. Image 2: Etruscan gold Jewelry set, MMA 40.11.7-.18 Image 3: Unknown model with Etruscan jewelry group from a tomb in Vulci, Metropolitan Museum, 1940. Photographer: Hans van Nes. Image 4: Sophia Schliemann with the so-called Priamos Treasure, 1873. Image 5: “Larthia”, Regolini Galassi Tomb, Vatican Museums, ca 1912-1915. From: M. Sannibale, "Giovanni Pinza a cento anni dai “Materiali per la etnologia antica toscano-laziale”", in RendPontAc 87, 2014-2015, fig. 4. #TheMet #MetGreekandRoman #fashion #ancientjewelry #Etruscans #women #etruschi #troy #schliemann #archaeology #ancientgreece #anatoly #turkey #museivaticani #gold #goldjewelry

The Department of Greek and Roman Art is proud to participate in the brand-new show "Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co", with an outstanding selection of Greek and Roman glass and Greek vases. The exhibition features both works by Tiffany and works from Moore’ s collection given to the Met. Throughout the 19th century, Western collectors were captivated by the art of ancient Greece and Rome. Edward Moore—the creative force who led Tiffany & Co. to unparalleled originality and success during the second half of the 19th century—embraced the trend of collecting ancient glass; of the approximately 650 classical objects he left to The Met, 618 of them are glass. Their lustrous surfaces and rich colors fueled Moore’s experiments with mixed metal compositions and surface treatments for silver. Although Moore and his team were at the forefront of exploring more progressive and non-Western styles, Greek and Roman art remained foundational for Tiffany designers, and classically inspired silver continued to be a mainstay of the company’s production.  Come and see this inspiring collection represented through various departments of the Met: from June 9 to October 20, 2024. #MetMuseum #MetGreekandRoman #GreekArt #RomanArt #RomanGlass #GreekVases #Tiffany #Collecting #CollectingInspiration #EdwardMoore #DecorativeArts #Silver #BlackFigure #RedFigure #daunian

This gorgeous young man is the Roman god Mercury (2023.561). The bronze figure, dated to the 2nd century CE, is naked with a cloak covering the left arm and wings placed on his ankles and on his characteristic hat (petasos). Most Roman household shrines, especially in Gaul and Italy, had such bronze statuettes of Mercury, who served as the protector of wealth. The money pouch held in his right hand is a typically Roman attribute of the god, while the balanced and relaxed position (contrapposto) of the body is reminiscent of the widely copied figure of Hermes made by the Classical Greek sculptor Polykleitos. The provenance of this small and precious object can be traced back to 1873 in the collection of Sir Francis Cook (1817-1901), 1st Baronet and 1st Viscount of Monserrate, Doughty House, Richmond, Surrey, UK. . . . #TheMet #MetGreekandRoman #RomanArt #AncientRome #Rome #RomanSculpture #Sculpture #Bronze #RecentAcquisition #Provenance

The oikos, or household, was the basic unit of ancient Greek society. This marble grave monument (49.11.4), carved into the shape of a lekythos (a funerary oil-flask), gives us a window into the dynamics of the oikos. The monument was made in Athens ca. 375-350 BCE and features seven figures that probably represented members of a single household. In classical Athens, the oikos was made up of blood-related family members as well as the people who were enslaved to them. The female and enslaved members of the oikos were subordinated to the kyrios, or male head of household. This funerary monument depicts five family members who are labeled: Aristomache (center), the deceased, stands facing her father (standing), Aiolos, and her mother (seated), Leonike, as they both clasp her arm. Her two sisters Stratokleia (left) and Axiomache (right) stand holding their left hands up to their faces, possibly a gesture of mourning. To the far left and far right are two enslaved women or girls holding boxes, rendered smaller in scale than the other figures and missing inscriptions that would identify them by name. Want to learn more about women and enslaved people in the ancient Greek world? Come to ‘Research Out Loud: Met Fellows Present 2024’! Victoria Greene, current fellow of the Greek and Roman department, will give the lecture “Coping with Death: The Impacts of the Peloponnesian War on Women in Athens (431-404 BCE)” on Thursday, May 9, 10-12am and lead a gallery activation, “Behind the Classical Facade: Seeing Women and Enslaved People in the Greek Galleries” on Friday May 10, 5-5:45pm. #MetGreekandRoman #TheMet #Metmuseum #Research #MetAncient #GreekArt #GreekSculpture #Women #funeraryArt #art

The mosaic from the House of the Citharist at Pompeii also has a New York City story. Its scale design served as inspiration for the IMAGINE mosaic in Central Park, in Strawberry Fields, landscaped garden that is dedicated to the memory of former Beatles member John Lennon (1940-1980). The design was selected by Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono, who conceived of the memorial and named it after the 1967 song Lennon wrote and performed with the Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever.” In the early 1980s, Ono invited countries from around the world to contribute plants as well as stones to create an international garden of peace. The IMAGINE mosaic was a gift from the city of Naples, Italy to the New York City Council. Roman mosaicists Antonio and Fabrizio Cassio worked in partnership with the Naples Tourist Board, the New York City Council, the Central Park Conservancy, and a landscape architect Bruce Kelly to create the mosaic, which was dedicated on October 9, 1985. The ancient mosaic in The Met’s galleries highlights the tangible connection between ancient Roman artistic history and the contemporary art and landscape of Central Park. . . . @MANN @centralparknyc @michelangeloiossa #TheMet #metgreekandroman #mosaic #MANN #newyork #roman #medusa #naples #StrawberryFieldsForever #centralpark #JohnLennon #thebeatles #yokoono #centralparkconservancy

From Naples to New York This striking mosaic (L.2024.1) with the head of the Gorgon Medusa is on loan to The Met from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy (MANN). It originally covered the floor of a small room (ala 54) that extended off an atrium with a rectangular pool in the House of the Citharist in Pompeii, Italy. One of the largest in the city, the house encompassed almost an entire block at its largest extent in the 1st c. BCE and was named after a bronze statue of Apollo playing the lyre (MANN Inv. 5630). The famous Neapolitan archaeologist and museum director Guiseppe Fiorelli excavated the house in the mid-19th century and in 1867, he transferred the mosaic to the MANN. In antiquity, depictions of the Gorgon Medusa served to avert evil and misfortune. The potency of her visage, with its piercing stare and snake-like hair, derived from descriptions in Greek myths that chronicled the Gorgon’s monstrous nature, and her ability to turn anyone she saw into stone. Medusa’s image is frequently found in Roman houses, on tableware, wall paintings, and mosaics. In this panel, her head is encircled within a shield design of black and white bipartite scales, which likely reference Athena’s scaly and supernatural aegis (her cloak or breastplate). @museoarcheologiconapoli #TheMet #metgreekandroman #mosaic #MANN #newyork #roman #medusa #naples #RomanArt #mosaic #pompeii #gorgon

Come and see “Hidden Faces: covered portraits of the Renaissance”, a newly opened exhibition at the Robert Lehman collection dedicated to concealed and double-faced portraits of the 15th and 16th centuries. Lovers of ancient art will be greeted with a 4th century BCE Greek mirror box with a relief of a woman’s face (07.255, image nr.2), as well as two gold Roman coins of the emperors Augustus (99.35.6, image nr.3) and Diocletian (08.170.444, image nr. 4) from the Met’s Greek and Roman collection. Renaissance princes and intellectuals were avid collectors of ancient coins, and artists were inspired by the portraiture and symbolism of Roman imperial coins to make their own double-sided portraits of their patrons. In contrast to Augustus’ coin (20-19 BCE) which utilizes symbols like the shield of virtue and laurel trees emblematic of victory on the reverse, Diocletian’s coin (293 CE) links the emperor much more explicitly with divine power, by showing the god Jupiter on the reverse. The Greek mirror box represents an important ancient precedent for another one of the main themes of the exhibition, which is exploring the relationship between the portrait and the cover or box in which it is kept. #GreekandRoman #TheMet #ancientart #Met #MetMuseum #NYCMuseums #NewYork #MetLehmanCollection #Renaissance #exhibition #coins #portraits #gold #GreekArt #GreekBronze #ClassicalArt #RenaissanceArt

While much has been written about the pagan origins of the Christian holiday, historically Easter celebrations owe most to the emperor Constantine, who ruled the Roman Empire from 306 to 337 CE. After centuries of intermittent persecutions of Christians, Constantine not only legalized the practice of Christianity across the Roman Empire (in the famous edict of Milan of 313 CE), but also defined Christian orthodox doctrine in 325 at the council of bishops held in the city of Nicaea (in modern day northwestern Turkey). Among other crucial matters, the council of Nicaea, which was convened and chaired by Constantine, determined that the date of Easter would be calculated independently of the Jewish calendar and the Jewish festival of Pesach (Passover). Henceforth, Easter would be celebrated on the same day across the Empire, on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox (March 21). Constantine transformed religious practices in the ancient world, while also reinforcing traditional Roman Imperial norms, as this portrait of Constantine (26.229) shows. Following established practice, the head was carved out of an existing portrait of the emperor Trajan. Constantine was thus presenting himself as a new Trajan, the model “good” emperor for all who succeeded him. At the same time however, in this much larger-than-life, almost otherworldly portrait, with his eyes looking up towards heaven, Constantine’s official image distances him from viewers and distinguishes him from his predecessors. . . . #MetGreekandRoman #Easter #Romansculpture #RomanEmpire #TheMet #Marble #Christianity #RomanArt #marblesculpture #Romanhistory #RomanEmpire #Constantin #Trajan

While this season many bunnies are busy bringing chocolate eggs, this ancient terracotta hare (52.128) carried perfume oil inside. Our friend is lying down, with its legs folded underneath. Known as aryballoi, small perfume vases, often made in the shape of animals and even human figures, are characteristic of late 7th century BCE Corinthian production. Such dainty vases might have served as gifts, and could also be suspended, as the hole between the ears and the head shows. In the 7th and early 6th centuries BCE, Corinthian pottery, and aryballoi in particular, were exported all over Greece and the Mediterranean, attesting to Corinth’s commercial success. #MetGreekandRoman #TheMet #easterbunny #Easter #corinthianpottery #GreekVases #GreekArt

Sleek, smooth, minimalist—what might register as “modern” in our minds is actually anything but. NOW ON VIEW—See 161 works that comprise the single most comprehensive private collection of Cycladic art formed outside of Greece, now on display in the @metgreekandroman galleries. This remarkable display allows visitors to explore and appreciate the essential aspects and subtle variations that Cycladic sculptors imbued in their work over the course of more than a thousand years—and offers an extraordinary opportunity to closely examine a large body of little known Cycladic works that have been repatriated to Greece. The Leonard N. Stern Collection of Cycladic Art at The Met is the result of a historic 50-year partnership among The Met, the Ministry of Culture of the Hellenic Republic, and the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens—approved by Greek parliament in 2022. Tap the link in bio to learn more and plan your visit. #CycladicArt

The newest addition to the Greek and Roman galleries is a dazzling array of marble sculptures and vessels that were carved in the Greek islands known as the Cyclades. Dating as early as the 5th millennium BCE, they are among the earliest works of art from the ancient Greek world. The long-term exhibition, “Cycladic Art: The Leonard N. Stern Collection on Loan from the Hellenic Republic,” features 161 works, more than half of which are female figures whose meaning remains elusive even today. The display and its accompanying digital content nevertheless bring these figures to life, exploring the subtle variations that Cycladic sculptors imbued in their sculptures—representations of the human form that inspired early 20th century artists such as Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brancusi, and Amedeo Modigliani—as well as the figures’ original function and brightly-painted appearance. Digital features include an online catalog—the first major systematic study to combine scholarly, technical, and scientific analyses of a large group of Cycladic artifacts assembled from the art market—an augmented reality experience, a Met Perspectives article on the meaning of the figures, and a video on the Cyclades by the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens.   Come and see! In Galleries 150, 151, and 171. /exhibitions/cycladic-art   / /perspectives/articles/2024/01/cycladic-figures #MetGreekandRoman #TheMet #cycladic #cycladicart #museumofcycladicart #museumofcycladicartathens #greece #sculpture #GreekArt

New year celebrations date back to ancient Rome. On January 1, 45 BCE, Julius Caesar instituted a solar calendar of 365 days. The first month of this calendar is fittingly named after the doubled faced Janus, god of beginnings and endings. On the first day of the new year, Romans would exchange ceremonial gifts, such as this terracotta oil lamp (06.1021.291). Other gifts would include money and dry fruits, such as figs and dates, which are depicted on this lamp. The winged goddess Victory stands in the discus, representing the success of one’s endeavors in the New Year. She holds a shield, inscribed in Latin, ANNV NOVM FAV STVM FEL ICEM MI HI, “a happy and prosperous year for me.” Three coins are also shown with symbols representing harmony and good will (represented by a traditional Roman handshake), victory, and the god Janus, with his two faces: one turned towards the past year, and one towards the future. #GreekRoman #TheMet #RomanArt #NewYears #2024