Glass cinerary urn with lid

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jar (A): Translucent blue green. Broad, tubular rim, folded out, down, and in, forming uneven, wavy upper surface; globular body; concave bottom. Complete, but one crack in rim and upper side; pinprick and a few larger bubbles; some pitting, dulling, and iridescent weathering on exterior, brilliant iridescence and creamy weathering on interior. A band of irregular horizontal lines is scratched onto top part of body just below the rim, presumably from use. Lid (B): Translucent blue green. Thick horizontal rim, folded down and in, with rounded edge and beveled ridge on upper surface; oval body with concave side, then conical, rising to a hollow stem, tapering upwards, tooled into two vertical, round knobs. Intact; pinprick and a few elongated bubbles; dulling, slight pitting, iridescence, and creamy brown weathering. The lid does not fit well on mouth of jar.

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