Terracotta kantharos (drinking cup with high vertical handles)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The origin of this unique vase has been difficult to pinpoint. In the eastern Aegean area, including Samos and Rhodes, vases in the shape of figures enjoyed considerable popularity during the Archaic period. The grainy quality of the clay and the matte glaze suggest that the kantharos is a Cypriot work inspired by eastern Greek models.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.

Metropolitan Museum of Art