Glass double head-shaped flask

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Translucent purple. Rim folded out, round, and in; flaring mouth; cylindrical neck, tapering downwards, with shallow irregular indents; plastic body; uneven, squarish bottom with rounded edges. Mold seams visible at sides of head, extending to base of neck. Body in the shape of two heads, back to back, with similar features; hair in vertical strands across forehead and longer flowing locks to either side of face, extending to neck; prominent forehead, indistinct sunken eyes, broad nose, plump round cheeks, large mouth, and rounded chin; below chin, collar-like strap. Intact, but internal crack across one face; dulling, pitting, creamy brown weathering, and brilliant iridescence.

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