Agate scepter head

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Scepter and mace heads are well-attested Cypriot implements, but this example is exceptional in the magnificence of its material, which is matched by the precision of its execution. The head itself is set on an iron shaft. During the Late Geometric and Archaic periods, rulers of the major centers of Cyprus gained considerable wealth from natural resources, notably copper, and from active trade, in which the Phoenicians were conspicuous. The luxurious and finely wrought objects with which these kinds surrounded themselves are particularly well represented by this scepter and by the bowls in precious metals exhibited nearby.

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