Glass beaker with inscription
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Translucent pale green. Outsplayed unworked rim; cylindrical body with vertical sides; uneven, flat bottom. Two vertical mold seams run down sides from rim to edge of bottom through palm fronds, with a separate disk-shaped base section. On body, large central frieze bordered above by two horizontal ridges and below by three horizontal ridges, and divided vertically by two palm fronds, extending from bottom of frieze to rim: the frieze contains an inscription in Greek capitals, in three lines on one side and in two lines on the other, each flanked by a pair of large stylized wreaths, comprising two concentric circles filled with chevrons, and with large wavy ribbons below; around bottom of side, continuous narrow horizontal wreath with chevrons. The inscription translates as "Seize the victory!" On bottom, projecting rounded ring and central dot. Complete except for small chips in rim, a hole in edge of bottom, and a crack down side; few bubbles, blowing striations; some dulling, small areas of encrustation, creamy and whitish weathering, with patches of brilliant iridescence. The Greek inscription reads "Seize the victory." It is flanked by two pairs of wreaths. Such vessels were clearly intended to celebrate victories won in the games or races and had an appeal as souvenirs.
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.