Greenstone polyhedron inscribed with letters of the Greek alphabet

2nd–1st century BCE

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171

The polyhedron has 20 sides, each inscribed with a letter of the Greek alphabet from A (alpha) to Y (upsilon), so that only the last four letters (phi, chi, psi, and omega) are missing. See a faience example (37.11.3) also displayed in this case.

Artwork Details

Overview

References

Title: Greenstone polyhedron inscribed with letters of the Greek alphabet
Period: Late Hellenistic
Date: 2nd–1st century BCE
Culture: Greek
Medium: Greenstone
Dimensions: Width (point to point greatest width): 3 3/8 in., 22.9oz. (8.6 cm, 647.9g)
Width (point to point smallest): 3 5/16 in. (8.4 cm)
Width (Side to side): 2 13/16 in. (7.2 cm)
Classification: Miscellaneous-Stone
Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1927
Object Number: 27.122.5
Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

More Artwork

In the same gallery

In the same medium

From the same time and place

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

Marble head of a goddess, Marble, Greek — Marble head of a goddess
Greek
4th century BCE

Marble akroterion, Marble, Greek, Attic — Marble akroterion
Greek, Attic
ca. 350–325 BCE

Marble head of a Ptolemaic queen, Marble, Greek — Marble head of a Ptolemaic queen
Greek
ca. 270–250 BCE

Marble grave stele of Antigenes, Marble, Hymettian (base), Greek, Attic — Marble grave stele of Antigenes
Greek, Attic
end of the 6th century BCE

Marble grave stele of a young woman and servant, Marble, Pentelic, Greek, Attic — Marble grave stele of a young woman and servant
Greek, Attic
ca. 400–390 BCE

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.