Bronze oinochoe

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The word "oinochoe" means "wine pourer", and the shape was a very common one throughout the Greek world. During the Archaic period, the oinochoe and the hydria (water jar) were often embellished with figural elements integrated into the handles. Here, the head of a woman appears at the top of the handle, a panther head and palmette at the bottom. This work is distinguished not only by its fine state of preservation but also by its exceptional vigor and simplicity.

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