Bronze statuette of a bearded man

Bronze statuette of a bearded man

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Although bearded, this bronze male statuette recalls the most familiar and representative of all Greek Archaic male figures: the kouros, a nude youth. The figure is in fact a variation of the kouros type. Although the stance, with the left foot advanced and both feet on a flat plinth, is characteristic, the traditional kouros was a beardless youth with both hands held at the sides. The base makes it likely that the work was offered as a dedication in a sanctuary.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bronze statuette of a bearded manBronze statuette of a bearded manBronze statuette of a bearded manBronze statuette of a bearded manBronze statuette of a bearded man

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.