Glass cinerary urn with lid

Glass cinerary urn with lid

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Urn: Translucent pale blue green. Broad, horizontal rim, with rounded tubular edge made by folding out, down, and in; short, concave neck; ovoid body; deep concave bottom. Intact; some bubbles, a few very large; dulling, limy encrustation, faint iridescence, and patchy brown weathering on exterior, slight dulling on interior. Lid: Translucent blue green. Thickened horizontal rim, with slight downward and inverted lip and beveled outer edge; horizontal side with concentric ridge near rim and broad concave band within on upper surface; hollow stem, tapering upwards to slightly flattened circular knob; small, tooled indent on top and tiny hole in center of knob. Intact, except for small chip in rim; many bubbles, some very large; slight dulling, iridescence, and creamy brown weathering. The lid is slightly smaller than the rim of the urn but sits evenly on inner edge of rim and mouth. In addition to handled vessels, large plain jars were often used as cremation urns, which may explain why they are more commonly found in Italy and the western provinces than in the Greek East.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Glass cinerary urn with lidGlass cinerary urn with lidGlass cinerary urn with lidGlass cinerary urn with lidGlass cinerary urn with lid

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.