Terracotta alabastron (perfume vase)

Persephone Painter

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Obverse, woman with mirror Reverse, woman with plemochoe (perfume vase) The column indicates that the scene is set indoors, and the kalathos (wool basket) on the ground suggests the ladies' occupation. The representation of each figure is noteworthy. The one with the mirror wears a peplos and her hair is bound with fillets. She appears younger. The other is dressed in a chiton and himation with her hair in a sakkos (snood). The Persephone Painter, whose masterpiece is displayed in the Jaharis Gallery on the main floor, characterizes figures with utmost economy.

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