Metropolitan Museum II

Terracotta Vase in the Form of a Sleeping African Boy Cypriot, ca. 3rd-2nd century BC Said to be from Cyprus From the Cesnola collection, Accession # 74.51.2263 The sleeping boy's nakedness and exhausted state suggest that he is a slave or servant. Vases of this shape probably held perfumed oils. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Title: Glass eye beads Medium; Technique: Glass Culture: Phoenician Period: Hellenistic Date: ca. 330–70 B.C. Dimensions: Average diameter: 1-1.3 cm Classification: Glass Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.316 On View Provenance: From Cyprus Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_... The beads formed a necklace that probably had an apotropaic as well as decorative purpose. Text excerpted from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Title: Terracotta conical lekythos (vase for oil) Medium; Technique: Terracotta Culture: Greek, Corinthian Period: Early Protocorinthian Date: ca. 700 B.C. Dimensions: H. 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm) diameter 6 7/16 in. (16.4 cm) Classification: Vases Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1923 Accession Number: 23.160.18 Description: The decoration combines birds, fish, horses, and a wolf in an exuberantly dynamic composition. Of particular note is the large cauldron; the two birds' heads are the artist's interpretation of the griffin attachments that typically decorated bronze vessels. Compare the splendid bronze griffin head (1972.118.54). Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Limestone head of a man Medium; Technique: Limestone Culture: Cypriot Period: Archaic Date: early 5th century B.C. Dimensions: Overall: 13 1/4 x 8 1/4 x 10 in. (33.7 x 21 x 25.4 cm) Classification: Stone Sculpture Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.2841 Description: This work exemplifies the Hellenization of the Assyrian type of head. The treatment of the beard, though still stylized, has become considerably softer; hair and a wreath of leaves replace the helmet; and most of all, the sensuous lips are integrated into a finely articulated physiognomy. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Limestone head of a man Medium; Technique: Limestone Culture: Cypriot Period: Archaic Date: early 5th century B.C. Dimensions: Overall: 13 1/4 x 8 1/4 x 10 in. (33.7 x 21 x 25.4 cm) Classification: Stone Sculpture Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.2841 Description: This work exemplifies the Hellenization of the Assyrian type of head. The treatment of the beard, though still stylized, has become considerably softer; hair and a wreath of leaves replace the helmet; and most of all, the sensuous lips are integrated into a finely articulated physiognomy. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Bronze water spout in the form of a lion mask (one of a pair) Medium; Technique: Bronze Culture: Greek or Roman Period: Late Hellenistic or Early Imperial Date: ca. 100 B.C.–A.D. 100 Dimensions: depth 13.00 cm. Classification: Bronzes Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.5677 Description: Impressive water spouts such as this must have adorned a monumental public fountain-house (nymphaeum), probably in one of the more important Cypriot cities. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Gold beads with lotus flowers and circular bosses Period: Classical Date: 5th century B.C. Culture: Greek or Cypriot Medium: Gold Dimensions: Other: 11 in. (27.9 cm) Classification: Gold and Silver Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.3391 Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/242825

Statue of Aphrodite holding winged Eros, late 4th century b.c.; Hellenistic Cypriot; Said to be from the temple at Golgoi Limestone H. 49 3/4 in. (126.4 cm) The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874-76 (74.51.2464) From the eighth century B.C., the Greek poets associated the goddess Aphrodite with Cyprus. On the island itself, however, the local Great Goddess did not become assimilated with Aphrodite until the fourth century B.C., when the worship of many Greek divinities was introduced. In this work, the goddess is clearly identified as Aphrodite by the small figure of Eros, the winged god of love, who perches on her shoulder. The Cypriots did not adopt a conventional Greek way to represent Aphrodite, but transferred their own iconography for the local goddess to their representations of Aphrodite. From the ninth to sixth centuries B.C., images of the Cypriot Great Goddess were inspired by Eastern art, especially that of the Syro-Phoenician goddess Astarte, who was depicted nude. From the fifth century B.C. onward, the local goddess was shown with a high round headdress decorated with the vegetal and floral motifs that befit a fertility goddess. Here, Aphrodite wears such a crown decorated with palmettes alternating with nude females that recall the representations of Astarte. She wears a necklace of pendant lotus blossoms and a chiton with himation (cloak) drawn up over the back of her headdress. The long spiral locks falling over both shoulders recall those of sixth- and fifth-century B.C. statues of young maidens (korai) from the Athenian Acropolis. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/74.51.2464

Title: Terracotta vase in the form of a lion Medium; Technique: Terracotta Culture: Roman Period: Mid-Imperial Date: 2nd century A.D. Dimensions: H. 11.40 cm. Classification: Vases Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.1666 On View Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_... and Cypriot Terracotta Vase in the Form of a Lion Roman, 2nd Century AD Accession Number: 74.51.1666 Vessels (askoi) in human or animal shape are some of the most unusual products of Greek and Roman potters. This example may be an import from Asia Minor; Knidos in Caria was a major production center for plastic vases. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label

Title: Limestone funerary monument of a woman Medium; Technique: Limestone Culture: Roman, Cypriot Period: Early Imperial Date: 1st century A.D. Dimensions: H. 43 in. (109.2 cm) Classification: Stone Sculpture Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.2490 On View Description: The deceased woman is accompanied by a servant girl who holds a jewelry chest in her right hand; a round object that resembles a mirror hangs from her left arm. The tight curls that frame the woman's face were made fashionable in the court of the Flavian emperors at Rome toward the end of the first century A.D. The face of the plinth on which the servant stands is inscribed: "Zoilos of Golgoi made [it]." Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Limestone funerary monument of a woman Medium; Technique: Limestone Culture: Roman, Cypriot Period: Early Imperial Date: 1st century A.D. Dimensions: H. 43 in. (109.2 cm) Classification: Stone Sculpture Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.2490 On View Description: The deceased woman is accompanied by a servant girl who holds a jewelry chest in her right hand; a round object that resembles a mirror hangs from her left arm. The tight curls that frame the woman's face were made fashionable in the court of the Flavian emperors at Rome toward the end of the first century A.D. The face of the plinth on which the servant stands is inscribed: "Zoilos of Golgoi made [it]." Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Limestone funerary monument with a youth and his horse Medium; Technique: Limestone Culture: Roman, Cypriot Period: Early Imperial Date: early 1st century A.D. Dimensions: Overall: 51 x 30 in. (129.5 x 76.2 cm) Classification: Stone Sculpture Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.2488 On View Description: The architectural frame and the frontal pose of the youth are typical of a small group of grave monuments found on Cyprus that probably date to the early years of the Roman Empire. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Limestone funerary monument with a youth and his horse Medium; Technique: Limestone Culture: Roman, Cypriot Period: Early Imperial Date: early 1st century A.D. Dimensions: Overall: 51 x 30 in. (129.5 x 76.2 cm) Classification: Stone Sculpture Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.2488 On View Description: The architectural frame and the frontal pose of the youth are typical of a small group of grave monuments found on Cyprus that probably date to the early years of the Roman Empire. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Limestone statue of a wreathed boy holding a ball or piece of fruit Medium; Technique: Limestone Culture: Cypriot Period: Hellenistic or Imperial Date: 3rd century B.C.–1st century A.D. Dimensions: Overall: 40 1/4 x 13 x 11 1/2in. (102.2 x 33 x 29.2cm) Classification: Stone Sculpture Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.2481 Provenance: From the sanctuary of Golgoi-Ayios Photios Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Limestone funerary monument with a seated woman Medium; Technique: Limestone Culture: Cypriot Period: Late Hellenistic Date: 2nd–1st century B.C. Dimensions: Overall: 42 x 17 1/2 x 6 3/4 in. (106.7 x 44.5 x 17.1 cm) Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.2489 On View Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Fragmentary limestone Cypriot capital Medium; Technique: Limestone Culture: Cypriot Period: Classical Date: 5th century B.C. Dimensions: Overall: 26 1/2 x 36 in. (67.3 x 91.4 cm) Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.2497 On View Description: This capital, with carved decoration on only one side, is of a type known only on Cyprus. Like the more complete version (74.51.2493) displayed nearby, two pairs of curved frondlike forms surround an elaborate "tree of life," a motif well known in Near Eastern art. Two sphinxes standing on lotus stems place a paw against the tree. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Limestone funerary stele (shaft) with a "Cypriot capital" Medium; Technique: Limestone Culture: Cypriot Period: Classical Date: 5th century B.C. Dimensions: Overall: 54 x 32in. (137.1 x 81.3cm) Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.2493 On View Description: Rectangular shafts topped by capitals such as this were carved on Cyprus from the seventh through the fifth centuries B.C. Most come from Golgoi or Idalion. The capital is composed of several motifs that were well known in the eastern Mediterranean world. An Aeolic capital, marked by two volutes emerging from a triangular base, serves as support for two pairs of curving fronds between which rises a "tree of life" flanked by sphinxes. The Aeolic-style capital derived from floral motifs that go back in date to the Bronze Age. The earliest known stone capitals of this type date to the tenth to ninth century B.C. and were found in Palestine. They were apparently influenced by Phoenician examples, and it may well have been the Phoenicians who brought the motif to Cyprus. The symmetrical, stylized "tree of life" motif also originated in the Bronze Age and was used in a wide variety of media throughout the eastern Mediterranean area. Both motifs have connotations of fertility and the renovation of nature. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Limestone funerary stele (shaft) with a "Cypriot capital" Medium; Technique: Limestone Culture: Cypriot Period: Classical Date: 5th century B.C. Dimensions: Overall: 54 x 32in. (137.1 x 81.3cm) Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.2493 On View Description: Rectangular shafts topped by capitals such as this were carved on Cyprus from the seventh through the fifth centuries B.C. Most come from Golgoi or Idalion. The capital is composed of several motifs that were well known in the eastern Mediterranean world. An Aeolic capital, marked by two volutes emerging from a triangular base, serves as support for two pairs of curving fronds between which rises a "tree of life" flanked by sphinxes. The Aeolic-style capital derived from floral motifs that go back in date to the Bronze Age. The earliest known stone capitals of this type date to the tenth to ninth century B.C. and were found in Palestine. They were apparently influenced by Phoenician examples, and it may well have been the Phoenicians who brought the motif to Cyprus. The symmetrical, stylized "tree of life" motif also originated in the Bronze Age and was used in a wide variety of media throughout the eastern Mediterranean area. Both motifs have connotations of fertility and the renovation of nature. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...