Limestone statue of a male votary

Limestone statue of a male votary

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The figure carries an aryballos (a small oil bottle) in his left hand and wears a sword sheath at his right side. The textured sash worn over his left shoulder is unusual. The headband decorated with rosettes and his well-arranged clothing, complete with a belt tied in a Herakles knot, imply that he is represented as a participant in a procession or festival - a fitting pose for a votive statue.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Limestone statue of a male votaryLimestone statue of a male votaryLimestone statue of a male votaryLimestone statue of a male votaryLimestone statue of a male votary

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.