Glass cup in the shape of a Black African's head

Glass cup in the shape of a Black African's head

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Translucent pale blue green. Uneven knocked-off, slightly inverted rim; flaring neck; plastic body; flaring base with circular, flat bottom. Mold seams visible to either side of face, slightly misaligned on proper right side, extending to the top of the body. Body in the shape of a Black African head with hair arranged in vertical plaits; there are eleven short plaits over the forehead, two longer plaits in front of his ears, and four tiers of fifteen long plaits on the back of his head; he wears a wreath, tied at the back of his head and extending above his ears to his forehead, consists of leaves and berries; his brow are knit, his long eyebrows are arched, his ears are large and well defined, his eyes have small round pupils, his cheeks are plump, his nose is broad, his mouth is open (as if in a grimace), showing his teeth, and his chin is dimpled; he wears small spherical earrings that hang down from the bottom of his ear lobes. On the bottom, three raised, unevenly spaced, concentric circles. Intact; some bubbles; pitting, creamy weathering, and brilliant iridescence on exterior; thick whitish weathering and iridescence on interior A small number of other cups probably from the same mold are known.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Glass cup in the shape of a Black African's headGlass cup in the shape of a Black African's headGlass cup in the shape of a Black African's headGlass cup in the shape of a Black African's headGlass cup in the shape of a Black African's head

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.