Amber Disk with a Nereid Riding a Triton in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, June 2010

Amber disk with a nereid riding a triton
Roman, ca. 1st-2nd century AD

Accession # 23.160.98

Valued for its rarity and richness, amber was an increasingly favored precious material from the time of the emperor Nero, when it became more widely available. The elder Pliny, in his Natural History, tells us that amber was imported from the Baltic coast of Germany. The style of the carving and iconography of this piece look back to Hellenistic art. The disk preserves the remains of silver pins that were part of a handle on either side of the nereid. It likely served as a lid, possibly for a small pyxis (box.)

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.