Terracotta bowl

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bowl with handle and two spouts. Red Polished Ware vessels, such as this bowl, made their appearance at the very beginning of the Early Cypriot I period, having been introduced by immigrants from Anatolia who settled on the island soon after the middle of the third millennium B.C. The surface was covered with a red slip, which was then burnished to render a lustrous appearance. The small rosettes and incisions on the handle, filled with lime after firing, lend a striking contrast to the red background of the vase. Cypriot Red Polished Ware has long been known from finds in tombs throughout the island, and has recently appeared at settlement sites as well. The shapes and decorations on vessels, like this double-spouted bowl, highlight the creative spirit of the Cypriot potter, showing the artist's sense of elegance and geometric symmetry.

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