ALT Small amphoriskos perfume bottle, made of banded agate. The shape is like a fat amphora (hence the name - ‘small amphora’) with a round flat bottom; two tiny handles support the neck, which flares out at the top, where the opening would have once had a stopper. The banded agate has stripes of black, white, cream, red, orange, and yellow. Spectacular. In Hellenistic and Roman times, vessels made in semiprecious stone were much sought after as symbols of wealth and sophistication. They were used as diplomatic gifts or treasured as heirlooms, and many of them found their way into royal tombs or imperial collections, both in antiquity and later. Their rarity also encouraged imitations in both glass and pottery. Roman, late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE. Met Museum, New York (2001.253))

ALT A white mosaic with inserts of larger black tesserae in rows that run off into the distance.

ALT The light from an open doorway illuminates part of a fresco of shrubs and a trellis