Metropolitan Museum II

Three bronze mitrai (belly guards) Cretan, late 7th century BC Accession # 1989.281.51-53 These three mitrai were found on Crete with the two helmets exhibited above. They were suspended from belts to protect the lower abdomen. One, with the depiction of the foreparts of horses is inscribed, "Synenitos, the son of Euklotas [took] this." Another, with the foreparts of winged horses, is inscribed, "Aisonidas, the son of Kloridos took this." The third mitra is decorated with two sphinxes. Such heraldic representations of fantastic animals were derived from Near Eastern prototypes. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Three bronze mitrai (belly guards) Cretan, late 7th century BC Accession # 1989.281.51-53 These three mitrai were found on Crete with the two helmets exhibited above. They were suspended from belts to protect the lower abdomen. One, with the depiction of the foreparts of horses is inscribed, "Synenitos, the son of Euklotas [took] this." Another, with the foreparts of winged horses, is inscribed, "Aisonidas, the son of Kloridos took this." The third mitra is decorated with two sphinxes. Such heraldic representations of fantastic animals were derived from Near Eastern prototypes. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Three bronze mitrai (belly guards) Cretan, late 7th century BC Accession # 1989.281.51-53 These three mitrai were found on Crete with the two helmets exhibited above. They were suspended from belts to protect the lower abdomen. One, with the depiction of the foreparts of horses is inscribed, "Synenitos, the son of Euklotas [took] this." Another, with the foreparts of winged horses, is inscribed, "Aisonidas, the son of Kloridos took this." The third mitra is decorated with two sphinxes. Such heraldic representations of fantastic animals were derived from Near Eastern prototypes. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Nine dress attachments Greek Antiquities: Jewelry End of the Archaic Period Material : Gold Date : VIth century B.C. Place : Metropolitan Museum of Art Greek Art of the Seventh and Sixth Century B.C. Acquisition : The Bothmer purchase Fund (1977) Text from: www.insecula.com/us/oeuvre/O0009302.html

Ivory decorative plaque, 2nd half of 7th century B.C.; Archaic Greek Ivory; Overall: 5 3/8 x 2 3/4 x 5/8 in. (13.6 x 7 x 1.6 cm) Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.73) This plaque illustrates a mythological subject related to the advent of the god Dionysos in Greece. Because the two daughters of King Proitos of Argos refused to recognize Dionysos' divinity, they were driven mad and committed violent and unseemly acts until they were healed by the seer Melampos. Here, in their madness, they have unpinned their clothes and stand partially naked. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=13&vie...

Ivory decorative plaque, 2nd half of 7th century B.C.; Archaic Greek Ivory; Overall: 5 3/8 x 2 3/4 x 5/8 in. (13.6 x 7 x 1.6 cm) Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.73) This plaque illustrates a mythological subject related to the advent of the god Dionysos in Greece. Because the two daughters of King Proitos of Argos refused to recognize Dionysos' divinity, they were driven mad and committed violent and unseemly acts until they were healed by the seer Melampos. Here, in their madness, they have unpinned their clothes and stand partially naked. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=13&vie...

Bronze man and centaur Greek, Geometric, mid-8th century BC Accession # 17.190.2072 Half man, half horse, centaurs were thought to inhabit remote wooded areas. In much of Greek art, they appear in combat with humans, and by implication, are the antithesis of civilized men. The classic rendering of this subject can be seen in the metopes of the Parthenon in Athens. It is, however, already fully presented in this bronze statuette. The outcome of the conflict is indicated by the end of the spear preserved in the centaur's left flank and the greater height of the man. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Title: Copper ingot Medium; Technique: Copper Culture: Cypriot Period: Late Bronze Age Date: ca. 1450–1050 B.C. Dimensions: width 14 3/8in. (36.5cm) length 17 1/2in. (44.5cm) Classification: Bronzes Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1911 Accession Number: 11.140.7 Description: Cyprus is thought to have been the main producer of copper in the Late Bronze Age, although very few ingots, apart from miniature votive ingots, have been found there. Ingots of this characteristic shape were made only in the Late Bronze Age and seem to be the usual form in which pure copper was transported as a raw material to the ports of the eastern Mediterranean. Copper was mixed with tin, usually in a nine-to-one ration, to make finished bronze objects such as the adjacent stand (74.51.5684). The ingot's irregular surface was produced as the pure copper cooled in the open mold in which the metal was cast. The sheer weight of the ingot, approximately sixty-three pounds, is testimony to the large scale of the copper industry at this time and the bulk quantities of copper that were being exchanged. The discovery off the coast of Anatolia at Ulu Burun of a Late Bronze Age shipwreck with a cargo of over ten tons of Cypriot copper ingots provides remarkable confirmation of the extensive international metals trade in which Cyprus clearly played an important role. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Limestone coffin model Medium; Technique: Limestone Culture: Cypriot Period: Cypro-Geometric I Date: ca. 1050–950 B.C. Dimensions: Overall: 4 3/16 x 4 1/4 x 3in. (10.6 x 10.8 x 7.6cm) Classification: Miscellaneous-Stone Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.5163 On View Description: This model is particularly elaborate, with the cutouts at the base and the decoration of the Great Goddess or her priestess and horned animals in low relief. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Terracotta rhyton (libation vessel) in the form of a horse Cypriot, Late Cypriot IIIB, Proto-White Painted Ware, ca. 1200-1050 BC From the Cesnola Collection, Accession # 74.51.787 The origin of the horse-shaped rhyton (libation vessel) may be Aegean. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Terracotta lentoid flask Cypriot, Late Cypriot IIIB, Proto-White Painted Ware, ca. 1200-1050 BC From the Cesnola Collection, Accession # 74.51.897 Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Title: Terracotta lentoid flask Medium; Technique: Terracotta Culture: Levantine Period: Iron Age Date: 11th century B.C. Dimensions: H. 11 in. (27.9 cm) thickness 4 15/16 in. (12.5 cm) Classification: Vases Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.431 On View Description: Both sides of the flask are decorated with goats, birds, and rudimentary foliage. The skeletal character of the birds' wings provides a noteworthy antecedent to the renderings on Cypro-Archaic vases. The origin of this piece has been much discussed. The shape, clay, burnishing, and other technical features have stronger parallels in Levantine than in Cypriot pottery. Indeed, it is probably one of the earliest Phoenician vases imported into Cyprus. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Terracotta trick vase Medium; Technique: Terracotta Culture: Cypriot Period: Cypro-Archaic I Date: ca. 750–600 B.C. Dimensions: H. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm) Classification: Vases Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.584 Description: One of the most winning pieces in the Cesnola Collection, the vase is in the form of a bull. It was filled through the hollow foot and emptied through the hole in the bull's mouth, which is a spout modified into a head. Trick vases of this kind first appear in Cypro-Geometric pottery. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Terracotta ring-kernos (offering vase) Cypriot, Cypro-Geometric I, White Painted Ware I, ca. 1050-950 BC From the Cesnola Collection, Accession # 74.51.659 There are small holes in the bull's head and the cups that allowed liquid to flow into the hollow, horizontal ring. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Terracotta ring-kernos (offering vase) Cypriot, Cypro-Geometric I, White Painted Ware I, ca. 1050-950 BC From the Cesnola Collection, Accession # 74.51.659 There are small holes in the bull's head and the cups that allowed liquid to flow into the hollow, horizontal ring. Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Terracotta ring-kernos (offering vase) Cypriot From the Cesnola Collection, Accession # 74.51.660 Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.

Title: Terracotta jug Medium; Technique: Terracotta Culture: Cypriot Period: Cypro-Archaic I Date: ca. 750–600 B.C. Dimensions: H. 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm) Classification: Vases Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.531 On View Description: In this extraordinary evocative depiction, a woman faces off a horned serpent whose head looks vaguely like that of a ram. The protagonists appear well matched. In many cultures the line between human beings and animals, real or mythological, is permeable. The representation may be associated with an animal fable. Even more, it recalls the dialogue between Eve and the serpent in the Book of Genesis. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...

Title: Terracotta jug Medium; Technique: Terracotta Culture: Cypriot Period: Cypro-Archaic I Date: ca. 750–600 B.C. Dimensions: H. 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm) Classification: Vases Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Accession Number: 74.51.531 On View Description: In this extraordinary evocative depiction, a woman faces off a horned serpent whose head looks vaguely like that of a ram. The protagonists appear well matched. In many cultures the line between human beings and animals, real or mythological, is permeable. The representation may be associated with an animal fable. Even more, it recalls the dialogue between Eve and the serpent in the Book of Genesis. Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/greek_...