Gilt silver phiale mesomphalos

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Very little Classical Greek silver plate survives today. The golden figural decoration on these examples calls to mind Athenian red-figure vases and scholars debate whether precious vessels like these were the inspiration for the painted vases. However, since most gold-figured silver vessels have been found in Macedonian and Thracian tombs on the northern fringes of the Hellenized world and are dated to the second half of fifth century B.C., much later than the advent of the red-figure style, it has also been suggested that the influence may go the other way. On this beautifully preserved libation vessel, four youths hunt deer on horseback with spears. The artist makes clever use of the circular shape to show the hunters encircling their quarry.

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