Bronze handles of a volute-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)

Bronze handles of a volute-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Although these handles are much later than the other objects in this gallery, they represent a shape that was introduced in the late sixth century B.C. and was favored by significant artists who worked in terracotta and in bronze. A characteristic of volute-krater handles is the fine articulation of the volute itself and of the lower terminals where they rested on the shoulder of the vase. Here, as in most metal examples, they assume the form of swans' heads.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bronze handles of a volute-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)Bronze handles of a volute-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)Bronze handles of a volute-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)Bronze handles of a volute-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)Bronze handles of a volute-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)

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.