This Roman gadget was clearly designed to impress

"It’s the smaller objects that really speak to you directly as an individual, as a person."

"It's the smaller objects that really speak to you directly as an individual, as a person."

Curator Chris Lightfoot on an early Roman eating implement.

Explore this object:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/257863

Throughout 2013, The Met invited curators from across the Museum to each talk about one artwork that changed the way they see the world.

Photography by Anne-Marie Kellen

Subscribe for new content from The Met: https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum?sub_confirmation=1

#TheMet #ArtExplained #Art


Contributors

Christopher S. Lightfoot
Curator, Department of Greek and Roman Art

Pop art portrait of a woman with bright orange hair, turquoise skin, pink lips, and lavender eyeshadow on a pink background.
How do works in The Met collection trace the shifting associations of blonde glamour in Western art?
Lynda Nead
February 2
A small wooden carved box featuring figures and a tree in relief.
The author of After Sappho offers a queer feminist reading of Eve and the serpent, reimagining sin as likeness, desire, and bodies transcending gender and species.
Selby Wynn Schwartz
January 9
A close-up detail of a painted face rendered in muted green, blue, and gray tones.
Author Leena Krohn reflects on Helene Schjerfbeck’s portrait of Sigrid Nyberg.
Leena Krohn
December 18, 2025
More in:Art Explained

A slider containing 1 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Silver spoon and fork, silver, Roman
Roman
ca. 3rd century CE