Gold earring with a glass pendant in the shape of a Black African’s head

Gold earring with a glass pendant in the shape of a Black African’s head

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pendant: Deep cobalt blue or purple, appearing black. Head of a youth with tight curled hair, prominent forehead, deep-set eyes, pointed nose, full cheeks, parted lips, jutting chin, and long neck; elongated suspension loop projecting from top of head, pierced through sideways. Molded in a two-part mold with continuous seam running down sides of head and under neck. Head complete but chipped on proper left side of head and neck; some pitting, but iridescent weathering covering most of head.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gold earring with a glass pendant in the shape of a Black African’s headGold earring with a glass pendant in the shape of a Black African’s headGold earring with a glass pendant in the shape of a Black African’s headGold earring with a glass pendant in the shape of a Black African’s headGold earring with a glass pendant in the shape of a Black African’s head

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.