Glass beaker

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, with a separate disk-shaped base section. On body, large central frieze bordered above and below by a horizontal wreath with chevrons, facing in opposite directions: the frieze contains six large loops of vine tendrils, three on each side, each loop enclosing a vine leaf in outline or a stylized grape cluster comprising a series of dots; on one side, two leaves flank a cluster; on the other, two clusters flank a leaf. On bottom, projecting rounded ring and central dot. Chips missing in rim and larger holes in lower body and around edge of bottom; few bubbles; some dulling and reddish brown encrustation, with faint weathering and iridescence. Although closely related to Victory beakers, such as 81.10.210 and 81.10.214 also displayed here, this drinking cup has a more general appeal with its decoration of stylized vine leaves and grape clusters.

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