Limestone male figure in Egyptian dress

Limestone male figure in Egyptian dress

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The figure wears the double crown of Egypt with the uraeus (sacred asp) in front, a three-row pectoral, a fringed kilt whose central panel is decorated with two uraei, and a link belt. He probably represents and was dedicated as a worshiper; his pose, with one arm bent across the chest, is typical of such figures. Remarkably, Egyptian sculpture was not imported into Cyprus. However, Egyptian influence on the island began in the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600–1050 B.C.) and was reinforced by Phoenician imports. Only after Egypt took control of Cyprus in about 570 B.C. did details such as the double crown appear in sculpture.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.