Head and neck from a marble figure

Head and neck from a marble figure

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Little is known about the role and meaning of these figures in Cycladic culture. Although they have been found almost exclusively in graves and placed on their backs, it is not clear whether they were made specifically for burials. Examples found in settlements and sanctuaries may have been held upright in social or religious activities, such as processions. As the majority of these figures are female, they are probably linked with the idea of fertility and reproduction.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Head and neck from a marble figureHead and neck from a marble figureHead and neck from a marble figureHead and neck from a marble figureHead and neck from a marble figure

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.