Discovering Art with Emerald

Image from www.metmuseum.org In a museum as large as the Met, it’s easy to overlook this piece. It sits in one of the many maze-like galleries that flank the main hall of the Greek and Roman wing. On the day I visited the Met, it had been raining all morning and was cloudy and grey outside. After wandering through the windowless corridors of the museum’s interior, I made my way into the Greek and Roman arts section and was pleasantly surprised to find myself greeted by bright rays of sunshine coming through the glass arched ceiling. If you happen to enter gallery 156 from the main hall, you probably won’t notice this piece. The gallery is full of display cases, showing off immaculately painted Greek pottery. There’s a life size sculpture of a kneeling lion that greets you and seems to dominate the room, and another more prominently displayed stele looks out over the gallery. However, if you happen to enter the room from the neighboring gallery (number 155), this sculpture will