Silver and gilt amphoriskos (scented oil flask)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Several elegant vases of this type have been found in Southern Italy, and it is likely that this one was imported from there. Except for the solid handles and small collar-like mouth, it was raised from a single sheet of silver. A pair of gilded swags (or perhaps necklaces) emphasizes the widest part; gilded acanthus leaves ornament the base. The monogram D:M (R.M. in English) appears on the base, referring to the Etruscan owner.

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