Terracotta hydria: kalpis (water jar)

Terracotta hydria: kalpis (water jar)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

On the shoulder, chariot This vase was made at a time when the red-figure technique was becoming established and the relation between glazed and unglazed areas was a matter of considerable experimentation. The concept of a panel goes back to the early sixth century B.C., but the easy curves of the shape and the band between the handles indicate a different age.


Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Terracotta hydria: kalpis (water jar)Terracotta hydria: kalpis (water jar)Terracotta hydria: kalpis (water jar)Terracotta hydria: kalpis (water jar)Terracotta hydria: kalpis (water jar)

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.