Vase and Minor Arts Collection

The minor arts as well as the toreutics of the era were similarly prolific and diverse and their works were used for the decoration of palaces and luxurious private residences. Figurines and statuettes of traditional as well as new gods, often copies or variations of great creations of the 4th century BC were produced in marble or bronze.

Jewels and household vessels made of precious and semiprecious materials served the need for opulence and ostentation of their owners. Intricate diadems, exquisite necklaces, luxurious earrings and belts, arm bracelets and gold rings were decorated with motifs inspired by nature and mythology. Vessels of everyday use, particularly those intended for symposia, the rulers and the wealthy dwellers of cities, were made of gold, silver and bronze. The use of glass vessels that imitated the form of their metal or clay counterparts was connected with the tendency for luxury and sophistication. These lavish vases competed with and eventually replaced those made of clay, that were either simple black-glazed or decorated with vegetal or geometric patterns, occasionally gilded. The characteristic types of the latter included lagynoi, oinochoae, unguentaria, relief skyphoi and Hadra funerary hydriae.

The coroplastic art [art of figurines] of the Hellenistic period drew its inspiration from the religious and everyday life, theatre and music. It alluded to an atmosphere of enjoyment and insouciance in a world oriented towards the ephemeral and personal bliss.