Bronze man and centaur
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
This figural group of a man locked in combat with a centaur is attributed to a Laconian Geometric workshop and may come from Olympia. The centaur is represented as a smaller version of his human opponent, but with the addition of the body and hind legs of a horse. The outcome of the fight is indicated by the weapon-head projecting from the centaur’s left side. Recent analysis has revealed that the man’s eyes were originally inlaid with silver, which would have wonderfully contrasted with the centaur’s eyes, inlaid with reddish iron. Figural groups are rare in Geometric art, and this statuette is among the finest. The lack of attributes and parallels for the scene at this early date makes it difficult to identify the figures with certainty. According to one hypothesis, the scene likely depicts Herakles fighting the centaur Nessos in the middle of the Euenos river, after the monster tried to rape Dejanira, Herakles’ wife. The ornamentation under the base, with a double central zigzag pattern, may well reference the flowing waters of the river. Decorated base-plates—with perforated and relief geometric patterns—are typical of such statuettes during the later part of the eighth century BCE. This feature served as a stand but might also have been used as some kind of early stamp or seal.
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.