Terracotta bell-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)

Villa Giulia Painter

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Obverse, Apollo between Leto and Artemis Reverse, old king between two women The bell-krater with handles became popular during the second quarter of the fifth century B.C. The Villa Giulia Painter used the ample surface to depict dignified, statuesque figures. Apollo, the god of music, appears here with his mother, Leto, and sister, Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, as they offer libations; all have their names inscribed. On the reverse, an elderly man with a scepter faces a woman with a phiale (libation bowl) and oinochoe (jug). The conceit of depicting gods and mortals preparing libations is a recurrent theme—compare the Berlin Painter's stamnos (1988.40) in a nearby case.

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