Fragment of a large terracotta statue of a man

Fragment of a large terracotta statue of a man

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

There are two subjects preserved on the fragment. At the left are the head and forepart of a lion. A vertical strip in low relief separates him from a scene including a figure holding a large sword and, just above, the mouth of a lion. The fragment has been interpreted as being part of a decorated piece of body armor worn by a large, presumably male, figure.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fragment of a large terracotta statue of a manFragment of a large terracotta statue of a manFragment of a large terracotta statue of a manFragment of a large terracotta statue of a manFragment of a large terracotta statue of a man

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.