Terracotta vase in the form of a phallus

Terracotta vase in the form of a phallus

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Phallus vases are a rare and distinctive feature of Archaic Greek pottery. They were used to store perfumed oils, presumably of an erotic or medicinal nature. This vase is the product of an East Greek workshop, probably on Rhodes. Archaic Greek potters fashioned sculptural vases in a wide variety of shapes, including human heads, legs, and animals. This particular class reflects an element of playfulness recurrent throughout Greek art.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Terracotta vase in the form of a phallusTerracotta vase in the form of a phallusTerracotta vase in the form of a phallusTerracotta vase in the form of a phallusTerracotta vase in the form of a phallus

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.