Glass aryballos (oil bottle)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Translucent blue green; handles in same color. Thick, partially tubular rim, folded out, down, round, and in, flattened on upper surface; cylindrical neck; horizontal shoulder; globular body; thick bottom with central kick and pontil mark; two dolphin handles applied to shoulder, drawn up side of neck to underside of rim, turned out, round, and down, forming to ring holes, then a second trail applied to edge of rim, drawn down over handles, and trailed off upwards. Intact; a few small bubbles; slight soil encrustation and faint iridescence on exterior, patches of soil encrustation and creamy weathering on interior. Greenish, with handles in the form of dolphins.

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