Silver and gold phiale (libation bowl)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The phiale, characterized by its wide, low proportions and by the central boss, originated in the Near East but reached the Greek world by about 700 B.C. Phialai with a zone of ornament around the omphalos (central boss) found particular favor in eastern Greece. The palmette-lotus band is of Cypro-Phoenician type but its application may reflect Greek influence.

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