Terracotta kylix (drinking cup)

Painter of Bologna 417

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Interior, two schoolgirls Exterior, women conversing The representation in the tondo provides interesting evidence of the education of women in the mid-fifth century B.C. The girl on the left carries a pair of writing tablets and a stylus. Where she and her companion are going is no indicated. Although there apparently were some schools, those who could afford it were probably tutored at home. The girl with the tablets is obviously reluctant, but why we cannot know. The scene on the exterior may have some connection as the paraphernalia suspended in the background includes another set of tablets, torchholders, and an alabastron (perfume vase) in addition to wreaths and slippers.

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