Glass beaker signed by Jason
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Translucent green. Outsplayed knocked-off rim with indent below; body with convex sides, tapering downwards; flat bottom, recessed within rounded edge. Three-part mold with two vertical sections joined to cup-shaped bottom section, forming decoration in relief on sides and bottom; two horizontal ridges above central frieze containing two Greek inscriptions, each in two lines and divided vertically by a stylized palm frond; below frieze, three more horizontal ridges; near bottom on cup section of mold, two more horizontal ridges; on bottom, raised circle surrounding central depression with small boss. Intact except for one small chip in rim; blowing striations, some pinprick and a few larger bubbles; dulling, pitting, and brilliant iridescent weathering on exterior, and thick creamy brown weathering with soil encrustation on sides of interior. The inscriptions read "Jason made (me/it)" on one side and "May the buyer be remembered" on the other. Molded into the sides of the beaker are two Greek inscriptions. One says Jason made [me or it], and the other seems to be an echo of a Semitic blessing, Let the buyer remember. The two may be read separately, but it is more logical to see them as a commercial slogan, Let the buyer remember [that] Jason made [this beaker], thereby encouraging customers to buy Jason’s products again.
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.