Porphyry vessel with bearded masks
Unknown Artist
ca. late 1st century BCE‒early 2nd century CE
Medium
Porphyry
Dimensions
10 1/16 × 11 13/16 × 9 3/4 in. (25.5 × 30 × 24.8 cm) Diam. of rim: 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm)
Classification
Miscellaneous-Stone Vases
Culture & Period
Roman · Early Imperial
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Acquisitions Fund, The Jaharis Family Foundation Inc. Gift, Philippe de Montebello Fund, Philodoroi and Renée E. and Robert A. Belfer Gifts, The Bothmer Purchase Fund, and Mr. and Mrs. John A. Moran, Nicholas S. Zoullas, Patricia and Marietta Fried, Jeannette and Jonathan Rosen, Aso O. Tavitian, Leon Levy Foundation and Barbara and Donald Tober Gifts, 2014
Accession Number
2014.215
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking porphyry vessel, created in the early Roman Imperial period, showcases the Romans’ mastery of hard-stone carving. Fashioned from deep purple porphyry quarried in Egypt, the container’s rich color and durability made it a prized material with imperial prestige. Its compact, rounded form—roughly inches high—features boldly bearded masks that project the surface, lending the both sculptural presence and symbolic weight. The masks, likely representing mature male figures from theater or mythology, reflect the Roman fascination with dramatic imagery and the protective or apotropaic p...