Glass pendant in the form of a demonic mask

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Semi-opaque deep yellow brown, appearing black, with additions in opaque yellow and translucent cobalt blue. Conical, splayed at bottom with rounded edge; rod hole underneath. Applied large arched eyebrows in yellow, eyes as blue knobs applied over large yellow circles, and yellow edge at bottom, extending round back edge. Large chip on front edge, suspension loop missing, and chip on face between eyes (perhaps nose missing); slight dulling and weathering, withencrustation inside rod hole.

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