Fragmentary marble head of a helmeted soldier

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Romans devised two new forms of public monument to celebrate their military victories—the triumphal arch and the column. The latter are only found in Rome itself (and later in Constantinople, the New Rome), but triumphal arches were built in many cities throughout Italy and the provinces. They were often decorated with reliefs depicting Roman troops in various activities. This fragment may come from one such relief.

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