Terracotta oil lamp

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Loeschcke Type 1B. Mold-made. Deep, concave discus: two gladiators, Samnite and hoplomachus; on left, one fighter, wearing a crested helmet, trunks, and boots, and holding a short dagger in his right hand has fallen backwards to the ground, facing right; on right, the fighter, wearing a horned helmet, greaves and trunks, stands facing forward with his right arm outstretched and holding his shield down by his left side, with another rectangular shield between his legs; ground line below; a single, central filling hole; a band of lines and grooves around horizontal edge, forming shoulder. Volutes flanking broad, angular nozzle with large wick hole. Raised base ring, and flat base. Broken and repaired, with one large hole along left underside.

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