Metropolitan Museum II

Marble female figure Cycladic, Final Neolithic, ca. 4500-4000 BC Accession # 1972.118.104 This figure represents a rare type known as steatopygous, characterized by particularly full legs and buttocks, and is undoubtedly indicative of fertility. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Upper portion of a marble female figure Cycladic, Early Cycladic II, Chalandriani type, ca. 2300-2200 BC Accession # 1971.258.1 Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Marble male figure Cycladic, Early Cycladic II, Dokathismata type, ca. 2400-2300 BC or later Accession # 1972.118.103 Several features of this work are unusual. Although male figures are rare, they tend to be characterized by an attribute or activity; that is not the case in this example. His hair is clearly indicated as full and combed back. The upper body is that of a female figure. It is conceivable that the sculptor began making a woman and modified the statuette because of a change in his commission. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Marble Female Figurine Cycladic, Early Cycladic II, late Spedos type, ca. 2600-2400 BC Namepiece of the Bastis Master Accession # 68.148 The recognition of distinct artistic personalities in Cycladic sculpture is based upon recurring systems of proportion and details of execution. The stylization of the human body that is elegant almost to the point of mannerism is characteristic of the Bastis Master. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Marble female figure Cycladic, Early Cycladic I, Plastiras type, ca. 3200-2800 BC Accession # 45.11.18 The figure wears a headdress; on later works, the headdress is painted rather than incised. The pairs of holes in the neck and the right leg are ancient repairs from which the "clamp," of metal or another material, is missing. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Marble female figure Cycladic, Early Cycladic II, Chalandriani type, ca. 2300-2200 BC Accession # 1977.187.111 The remains of an ancient repair are of special interest. The head was broken from the long thin neck. A channel was cut into the sides of the neck and the head and then filled with lead. This technique was an established means of joining pieces in the first millennium BC. The repair thus may be contemporary with the piece or date from more than one thousand years later. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Marble seated harp player, ca. 2800–2700 B.C.; late Early Cycladic I–Early Cycladic II Cycladic Marble; H. with harp 11 1/2 in. (29.21 cm) Rogers Fund, 1947 (47.100.1) A male figure sits on a high-backed chair playing a stringed instrument. This work, one of the earliest of the small number of known representations of musicians, is distinguished by the sensitive modeling of the arms and hands. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=13&vie...

Marble seated harp player, ca. 2800–2700 B.C.; late Early Cycladic I–Early Cycladic II Cycladic Marble; H. with harp 11 1/2 in. (29.21 cm) Rogers Fund, 1947 (47.100.1) A male figure sits on a high-backed chair playing a stringed instrument. This work, one of the earliest of the small number of known representations of musicians, is distinguished by the sensitive modeling of the arms and hands. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=13&vie...

Marble bowl Cycladic, Early Cycladic II, ca. 2700-2400 BC Accession # 2005.300 Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Terracotta Jug Cycladic, Early Cycladic III- Middle Cycladic I, ca. 2300-1900 BC. Accession #2004.363.3 The jug was found together with the jar (2004.363.2) and the kernos (2004.363.1) displayed nearby in this gallery. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Terracotta kernos, Vase for multiple offerings Greek Antiquities Container (Kernos) Material : Terracotta Date : between 2300 and 2200 B.C., Early Cycladic III- Middle Cycladic I Accession # 2004.363.1 Place : Metropolitan Museum of Art The Robert and Renée Belfer Court Description Although the kernos was used in widely disparate regions during the prehistoric period, particularly impressive examples have come to light in the Cyclades. This one of the grandest preserved. The receptacles probably contained foodstuffs of various kinds, and perhaps also flowers. CYCLADIC ANTIQUITIES ACQUIRED BY METROPOLITAN MUSEUM (New York, November 5, 2004)—The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today the acquisition of a group of three exceptional Cycladic terracotta vases dating to circa 2000 B.C. Purchased through a gift from The Annenberg Foundation, the group consists of a container for offerings known as a kernos, a tall jar, and a jug. "These works are spectacular additions to the Metropolitan Museum's Cycladic collection," stated Philippe de Montebello, Director of the Metropolitan Museum. "They are powerful as works of art, representing the potter's expertise at its most accomplished, and also serve as rich sources of information about Cycladic culture and its interrelations with neighboring areas such as Crete. Thanks to the generosity of The Annenberg Foundation, the Museum's holdings have been strengthened immeasurably by this acquisition. This is particularly welcome at this crucial time, as the Department of Greek and Roman Art, led by Carlos Picón, is carrying out extensive renovations of their galleries and reinstallation of their collections." The three objects were found together on the Aegean island of Melos in 1829 by a British officer, Captain Richard Copeland, who was surveying in the eastern Mediterranean. They were donated to Eton College in Windsor, England, by Copeland's widow in 1857. The offering vase and the jar were first put on view at the Metropolitan Museum as loans in 1996 on the occasion of the opening of the Robert and Renée Belfer Court, the first phase of the ongoing reinstallation of the Museum's Greek and Roman Galleries. The jug was included in the recent purchase of the group by the Metropolitan. All are now on view together in the Belfer Court, which houses prehistoric and early Greek art. The art of the ancient Cycladic islands is most familiar from the elegant marble statuettes, usually of female figures, that were created between about 2800 and 2000 B.C. The same extraordinary level of craftsmanship evident in the statuettes appears in the offering container. Standing 13-5/8 inches high, it consists of a conical stand that supports 25 elongated receptacles, which are connected by a series of small platforms and struts – a very early application of the cantilever principle. The two rings of receptacles would probably have contained offerings of natural products such as seeds, grain, fruit, perhaps fibers, and so on. The decoration consists of lines that emphasize the major features of the vase; the blackish-brown glaze is applied over a buff slip that covers the actual surface. Although the piece has received some slight repairs, every aspect of its preservation is excellent. Kernoi of this type are associated principally with the island of Melos and have most often been found in tombs. The majority are far simpler, with between three and 12 receptacles. Only a handful of kernoi compare closely with the example now in the Metropolitan Museum; the finest counterparts are in The British Museum, London, and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. The newly acquired kernos, arguably the finest preserved, was also the last one in private hands. The second object, the jar, probably contained a burial. At 16-3/8 inches in height, it is slightly taller than the kernos. While the shape is well attested, the Eton example is featured throughout the archaeological literature thanks to its superb state of preservation. The decoration is very similar to that of the kernos, a

Title: Serpentine blossom bowl Medium; Technique: Serpentine Culture: Minoan Period: Middle Minoan III–Late Minoan I Date: ca. 1500 B.C. Dimensions: diameter 4 5/8 in. (11.7 cm) H. 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm) Classification: Miscellaneous-Stone Vases Credit Line: Gift of Bess Myerson, 2001 Accession Number: 2001.761.6 Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Terracotta vase in the form of a bull's head Minoan, Late Minoan II, 1450-1400 BC Accession # 1973.35 This vase is a type of rhyton, or libation vase. The offering was poured through the hole in the animal's muzzle. The vase was filled either by immersion in a large container or through the hole on the head. Using the principle of the siphon, liquid would not flow out as long as the opening at the top was closed with the thumb. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Three terracotta female figures Helladic (Mycenaean), Late Helladic IIIA, ca. 1400-1300 BC Accession Numbers: 35.11.16-.18 Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Three terracotta one-handled cups Helladic (Mycenaean), Late Helladic IIIA, ca. 1400-1300 BC Accession Numbers: 74.51.777, .778, .1391 Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Chariot krater, first half of 13th century B.C.; Late Helladic IIIB:1 Mycenaean Terracotta; H. 16 3/8 in. (41.6 cm) The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874-76 (74.51.966) The scene depicted on both sides of this krater follows the tradition of Mycenaean chariot representations from the beginning of the fourteenth century B.C. Two tall, armless figures wearing long, spotted robes stand in a chariot drawn by a pair of horses. Flecks of paint on the box of the chariot may indicate that it was covered with the hide of an ox. The horses follow the convention of Mycenaean vase painting: when two horses are meant to be represented, the painter, in an attempt to show perspective, depicts only one body, with two tails, two pairs of hindlegs and forelegs, as well as two heads. Stylized, high-stemmed flowers or abstract motifs decorate the background of the scene. To the right of the chariot, a female figure wearing a long robe stands with both arms raised and fingers splayed in what must be a meaningful gesture. Her breasts are rendered as two spirals, and the features of her face resemble those of the figures in the chariot. Most likely she is bidding goodbye to departing warriors, a familiar scene on earlier chariot kraters. Large numbers of Mycenaean vases began to inundate the Cypriot market at the beginning of the fourteenth century B.C., perhaps as a result of extensive trade relations between the Argolid, a region in the Peloponnesos, and the eastern Mediterranean. The krater was a popular form in the repertoire of Mycenaean vases, found almost exclusively in tombs on Cyprus. Sometimes as many as half of the objects in fourteenth and thirteenth century B.C. tombs on Cyprus consist of Mycenaean pottery. Pictorial vases, like this one, were probably connected with funerary practices and, in some regions, may have served as vessels that held the remains of the deceased. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/03/eus/ho_74.51.966.htm

Chariot krater, first half of 13th century B.C.; Late Helladic IIIB:1 Mycenaean Terracotta; H. 16 3/8 in. (41.6 cm) The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874-76 (74.51.966) The scene depicted on both sides of this krater follows the tradition of Mycenaean chariot representations from the beginning of the fourteenth century B.C. Two tall, armless figures wearing long, spotted robes stand in a chariot drawn by a pair of horses. Flecks of paint on the box of the chariot may indicate that it was covered with the hide of an ox. The horses follow the convention of Mycenaean vase painting: when two horses are meant to be represented, the painter, in an attempt to show perspective, depicts only one body, with two tails, two pairs of hindlegs and forelegs, as well as two heads. Stylized, high-stemmed flowers or abstract motifs decorate the background of the scene. To the right of the chariot, a female figure wearing a long robe stands with both arms raised and fingers splayed in what must be a meaningful gesture. Her breasts are rendered as two spirals, and the features of her face resemble those of the figures in the chariot. Most likely she is bidding goodbye to departing warriors, a familiar scene on earlier chariot kraters. Large numbers of Mycenaean vases began to inundate the Cypriot market at the beginning of the fourteenth century B.C., perhaps as a result of extensive trade relations between the Argolid, a region in the Peloponnesos, and the eastern Mediterranean. The krater was a popular form in the repertoire of Mycenaean vases, found almost exclusively in tombs on Cyprus. Sometimes as many as half of the objects in fourteenth and thirteenth century B.C. tombs on Cyprus consist of Mycenaean pottery. Pictorial vases, like this one, were probably connected with funerary practices and, in some regions, may have served as vessels that held the remains of the deceased. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/03/eus/ho_74.51.966.htm

Chariot krater, first half of 13th century B.C.; Late Helladic IIIB:1 Mycenaean Terracotta; H. 16 3/8 in. (41.6 cm) The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874-76 (74.51.966) The scene depicted on both sides of this krater follows the tradition of Mycenaean chariot representations from the beginning of the fourteenth century B.C. Two tall, armless figures wearing long, spotted robes stand in a chariot drawn by a pair of horses. Flecks of paint on the box of the chariot may indicate that it was covered with the hide of an ox. The horses follow the convention of Mycenaean vase painting: when two horses are meant to be represented, the painter, in an attempt to show perspective, depicts only one body, with two tails, two pairs of hindlegs and forelegs, as well as two heads. Stylized, high-stemmed flowers or abstract motifs decorate the background of the scene. To the right of the chariot, a female figure wearing a long robe stands with both arms raised and fingers splayed in what must be a meaningful gesture. Her breasts are rendered as two spirals, and the features of her face resemble those of the figures in the chariot. Most likely she is bidding goodbye to departing warriors, a familiar scene on earlier chariot kraters. Large numbers of Mycenaean vases began to inundate the Cypriot market at the beginning of the fourteenth century B.C., perhaps as a result of extensive trade relations between the Argolid, a region in the Peloponnesos, and the eastern Mediterranean. The krater was a popular form in the repertoire of Mycenaean vases, found almost exclusively in tombs on Cyprus. Sometimes as many as half of the objects in fourteenth and thirteenth century B.C. tombs on Cyprus consist of Mycenaean pottery. Pictorial vases, like this one, were probably connected with funerary practices and, in some regions, may have served as vessels that held the remains of the deceased. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/03/eus/ho_74.51.966.htm