Gold ring with carnelian intaglio: Eros with flaming torch

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Eros leaning on an inverted torch. These items, all found on Cyprus, are very representative of Roman decorative jewelry, in which various designs are combined and highlighted with colored gems in order to make them look as rich and impressive as possible. Similar jewelry is found throughout the Roman Empire. 1. Gold, beryl, and garnet earrings, 3rd century A.D. (74.51.3967, .3968) 2. Gold and carnelian ring, carved with the figure of Eros, late 1st century B.C.–1st century A.D. (74.51.4233) 3. Gold and carnelian ring, 1st–early 3rd century A.D. (74.51.4234) 4. Gold and pearl earrings, 3rd century A.D. (74.51.3853, .3854) 5. Gold and garnet ring, 1st century B.C.–1st century A.D. (74.51.4261) 6. Gold and beryl ring, late 1st century B.C.–early 1st century A.D. (74.51.4272) 7. Gold and banded agate ring, 1st–2nd century A.D. (74.51.4264) 8. Gold and garnet ring, 2nd century A.D. (74.51.4262)

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