
Glass mosaic inlay
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Translucent cobalt blue ground; decoration in opaque white, turquoise blue, yellow, and red. Square, slightly convex plaque, forming a cylindrical shape, with sharp edges at top and bottom. Symmetrical motif of intricate design incorporating palmettes, scrolls, and swags. Intact, but broken edges at both sides; upper side ground and polished with pitted surface bubbles; on underside, dulling and creamy weathering.
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.