Beaker signed by Meges

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Translucent yellow green. Outsplayed knocked-off rim with indent below; body with convex sides, tapering downwards; slightly concave bottom. Three-part mold with two vertical sections joined to cup-shaped bottom section, forming decoration in relief on sides and bottom; two horizontal ridges above central frieze containing two Greek inscriptions, each in two lines and divided vertically by a stylized palm frond; below frieze, three more horizontal ridges; near bottom on cup section of mold, two more horizontal ridges; on bottom, three raised concentric circles surrounding small central depression. Intact except for one chip in rim; blowing striations, pinprick and a few larger bubbles; slight dulling, pitting, and iridescence on exterior, and patches of whitish weathering on side of interior. The inscriptions read "Meges made (me/it)" on one side and "May the buyer be remembered" on the other. This beaker is very similar to two others displayed here except that here it is signed by Meges, not Jason.

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