Two figures in a scene of childbirth

Two figures in a scene of childbirth

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Both figures are handmade and solid. The face of the larger figure was made in a worn mold, and is flat and rough. One female figure holds another, supporting her in childbirth.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Two figures in a scene of childbirthTwo figures in a scene of childbirthTwo figures in a scene of childbirthTwo figures in a scene of childbirthTwo figures in a scene of childbirth

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.