Silver handle of a large dish

Silver handle of a large dish

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Romans prized silver tableware very highly and liked to collect large sets for show as much as for use. Consequently, many of the vessels were highly decorative; mythological scenes and favorite pastimes such as hunting frequently served as subjects. Here many details of the relief have been highlighted with gilding.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Silver handle of a large dishSilver handle of a large dishSilver handle of a large dishSilver handle of a large dishSilver handle of a large dish

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.