Terracotta oinochoe: chous (jug)

Shuvalov Painter

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Two boys at thymiaterion (incense burner) The special shape of this oinochoe indicates that it had some connection with the Anthesteria, the celebration of the new wine in which children and the god Dionysos figured prominently. The youth at the left replaces the cover of the thymiaterion after filling it with incense; he needs to stand on tiptoe. His companion extends his hand to help if necessary. The oinochoe on the ground suggests that the depicted activity was accompanied by a libation and had particular significance.

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