Gold earring with glass head pendant

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Translucent dark blue, opaque yellow and turquoise. Small rod hole in blue base at bottom; overlay in yellow forming face with pointed chin; applied twisted headband in blue, yellow, and turquoise across forehead; above, applied large suspension ring in blue, projecting forward. Large curl of hair in blue above ears, extending onto back over top of base; eyes as sunken blue rings; long, rounded nose; chubby cheeks; mouth with parted lips; projecting chin. Intact; dulling and slight iridescent weathering. These pendants were used as protective amulets to ward off evil. Similar pendants are frequently represented on Cypriot votive statues and figurines, particularly "temple boys."

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