Terracotta column-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Large column-kraters with decorative straps bridging the gap between shoulder and rim are typical of bucchero workshops in the Vulci area during the sixth century B.C. This bucchero pesante (heavy bucchero) example is unusual in that it has six straps, rather than the normal two, and the largest are decorated with striding lions, not human masks. A truncated warrior, equipped with crested helmet, armor or cloak, and two large spears, appears on the four smaller straps. The shape is ultimately derived from Corinthian metallic and ceramic models. When they have human masks, the straps may derive from a type of Corinthian pyxis (cosmetics jar). Thus, the Etruscan potter, although inspired by Greek models, has created an entirely new hybrid.

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