Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Art from Ancient Worlds at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Ever since the opening of the new Greek and Roman Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on April 20, 2007, I longed to visit it.  Finally, I got chance to admire the beautiful hall, as well as incredible collections there.  In the same trip, I also concentrated on Byzantine works, which I had not paid much attention in my previous visit.  For a museum as big as the MET, I had to strategize and concentrate on a portion of its vast collections in order to really look at the art, instead of just greetings and then moving on.

I found this introductory video online and it can guide my dear readers who are not familiar with this project.




At the entrance hall to the Greek and Roman wing, visitors can see most imposing statues and columns.

Greek _8244

Greek _8186

Greek _8262

Below pictures are only the corridors to the big display rooms at the end and smaller ones on the sides. 

Greek _8213

Greek _8184

Greek sculptures from all periods are included and I can spend hours and hours in these rooms.

Greek _8211

Greek _8190

Marble head of a youth from a relief, Greek, late 4th century B.C., Said to be from Rhodes _8189
Marble head of a youth from a relief, Greek, late 4th century B.C., Said to be from Rhodes

Beyond the beautiful sculptures so identified with Greek culture, there were many other objects with high historical, cultural and artistic values.  I particularly love the weird small sculpture below, like the Female Figure with strange profile and the Harp Player in the strange pose, and terracotta and metal artifacts below:

Marble femal figure, Cycladic, Final Neolithic, c. 4500-4000 B.C. _8221
Marble female figure, Cycladic, Final Neolithic, c. 4500-4000 B.C.

Marble femal figure, Cycladic, Final Neolithic, c. 4500-4000 B.C. _8223
Marble female figure, Cycladic, Final Neolithic, c. 4500-4000 B.C.

Marble seated harp player, Cycladic, Early Cycladic I-Early Cycladic II, c. 2800-2700 B.C. _8225
Marble seated harp player, Cycladic, Early Cycladic I-Early Cycladic II, c. 2800-2700 B.C.

Greek _8219

Terracotta neck-amphora (storage jar), Greek, Attic, Proto-Attic, second quarter of the 7th century B.C. _8207
Terracotta neck-amphora (storage jar), Greek, Attic, Proto-Attic, second quarter of the 7th century B.C.

Greek _8205

Greek Vase shadow (Greek _ 8218)_500

Terracotta krater, Greek, Attic, Geometric, c. 725 B.C. _8216
Terracotta krater, Greek, Attic, Geometric, c. 725 B.C.

Terracotta neck-amphora (jar) with twisted handles, Greek, Attic, c. 440 B.C. _8263
Terracotta neck-amphora (jar) with twisted handles, Greek, Attic, c. 440 B.C.

Greek _8266

Two Bronze Helmets, Greek, South Italian, mid-4th-mid-3rd century B.C. _8182
Two Bronze Helmets, Greek, South Italian, mid-4th-mid-3rd century B.C.

Greek _8215

Terracotta sarcophagus rim, East Greek, Clazomenian, last quarter of the 6th century, b.c. _8198
Terracotta sarcophagus rim, East Greek, Clazomenian, last quarter of the 6th century, B.C.

Gold phiale (libation bowl), Greek, 4th-3rd century B.C. _8256
Gold phiale (libation bowl), Greek, 4th-3rd century B.C.

Roman Art obvious continued Greek tradition but also developed in the directions of its own distinction.  Beyond the usual busts closely associated to Roman arts, I love those murals and mosaics very much.

Roman _8235

Marble head of a Greek General, Roman, 1st-2nd century A.D.  _8187
Marble head of a Greek General, Roman, 1st-2nd century A.D.

Marble head of an athlete, Roman, Antonine period, c. A.D. 138-92, Copy of a Greek bronze statue of c. 450-425 B.C. _8234
Marble head of an athlete, Roman, Antonine period, c. A.D. 138-92, Copy of a Greek bronze statue of c. 450-425 B.C.

Marble Sarcophagus, Roman, about A.D. 220-230 _8237
Marble Sarcophagus, Roman, about A.D. 220-230

Roman Portrait of a young boy, Roman, _8248
Roman Portrait of a young boy

Roman _8249

Roman _8245

Roman _8246

Roman _8247

Roman _8251

Bronze medallion of Mantinea - BETOYPIOC, bust of Antinous, favorite of  Hadrian_TOIC APKACI, horse Mantinea, A.D. 130-137 _8252
Bronze medallion of Mantinea - BETOYPIOC, bust of Antinous, favorite of Hadrian_TOIC APKACI, horse Mantinea, A.D. 130-137

Roman _8258

Byzantine Art collection is relatively small and I had hard time to locate them - they were underneath the main staircases facing the entrance hall.  There were some incredible fabrics from that period and Byzantine Egypt but my batteries went dead before I could capture some images.

Byzantine _8420

Byzantine _8419

Byzantine _8418

Byzantine _8421

I had been to the Egyptian wing before but somehow, I totally missed the gigantic reconstructed Temple of Dendur, Egyptian, Dendur, Nubia, Roman period, ca. 15 B.C.  They were quite well preserved - mysterious and imposing, yet not uninviting, due to the bright light in this room.

The Temple of Dendur, Egyptian, Dendur, Nubia, Roman period, ca. 15 B.C. _8346


The Temple of Dendur, Egyptian, Dendur, Nubia, Roman period, ca. 15 B.C. _8350

The Temple of Dendur, Egyptian, Dendur, Nubia, Roman period, ca. 15 B.C. _8347

The Temple of Dendur, Egyptian, Dendur, Nubia, Roman period, ca. 15 B.C. _8348

The Temple of Dendur, Egyptian, Dendur, Nubia, Roman period, ca. 15 B.C. _8351

The Temple of Dendur, Egyptian, Dendur, Nubia, Roman period, ca. 15 B.C. _8349

The last portion of the artifacts from ancient worlds I want to include in this post mostly contained gold masks and crafts from South America, Mexico, Columbia, etc. They were stunningly rich and slightly grotesque.  Most interesting thing to me was that they resembled some huge bronze masks I saw in Sanxingdui, Sichuan Province, China.  Perhaps, there were some hidden connections since that particular civilization emerged and disappeared mysteriously as well and didn't resemble much of other part of Chinese culture.  Strange indeed.

South American _8178

South American _8174

South American _8176

South American _8177

>> New York City Report, September 2010, Part XI: 14th - 18th Century Paintings at the MET
<< New York City Report, September 2010, Part IX: Doug + Mike Starn on the Roof: Big Bambú at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

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