Glass jar with lid

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Translucent blue green, with lid in same color. Thick, tubular rim, partially folded up as well as out, round, and down, covering narrow neck; sloping shoulder with rounded corners; square body with flat sides; flat bottom but slightly concave to one side. On bottom, twelve concentric circles in relief. Intact; some bubbles and blowing striations, with one gritty inclusion in bottom; patch of limy encrustation, extending from rim down one side, some dulling, and iridescent weathering. Lid: oval disk with plain rounded edge, and thick central knob handle. Intact; some pinprick bubbles; dulling, creamy brown weathering, and iridescence. The lid is the appropriate size for the jar but does not fit well because of the uneven shape of the jar's rim. Smaller square jars have been found in houses and shops at Pompeii, where they were probably used for storing food. This large example, however, apparently served as a cinerary urn, although it is uncertain if the lid originally belonged with the jar.

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