Reconstructed Wall-Decoration From The House Of The Dolphins At Delos (late second century B.C.). This type of decoration, used
in the more important rooms of Hellenistic houses, is sometimes referred to as the 'Masonry Style', because of its use of plaster
raised in relief to imitate ashlar masonry. The blocks were brightly coloured and sometimes, as here, a figured frieze was included.
Other art forms may be briefly mentioned: ceramics (often decorated in relief), glassware (including millefiori and vessels with
gilded ornament, both produced in the factories of Alexandria), gold and silver plate, gem engraving, and jewellery. The importance
of these last three arts is attested by the fact that famous artists were engaged in them: Alexander, for example, issued a patent for
royal portraits to Pyrgoteles the gem-cutter just as he did to Lysippus for portraits in bronze and to Apelles for those in painting; and
Pliny seems to place all three artists on a par. Alexander's conquests opened up new resources of gold and introduced the Greeks to
new kinds of precious stone, such as garnets, with the result that work in costly materials enjoyed something of a new lease of life.
In gold jewellery the new technique of inset gems was added to the long established ones such as filigree and granulation. Alongside
the surviving items, which are often of great beauty, we hear from ancient writers of much more ambitious products of the luxury
arts. The most lavish and brilliant of all was Alexander's funeral carriage, elaborately decorated with gold and studded with jewels. It
took nearly two years to construct.
The Transition to Roman Art
The transition from Hellenistic to Roman art was, of course, a gradual one, and we must distinguish between East and West. While
the old styles and traditions remained firmly rooted in the eastern half of the Mediterranean, new aims and ideals, and above all a
new patronage, sprang into existence in Italy.
Southern Italy and Sicily were always part of the Hellenistic world; and central Italy, by osmosis, acquired its own provincial-
Hellenistic culture. Rome itself, as it gradually absorbed the Greek world, could hardly remain immune. In fact a passion for Greek
art, along with Greek literature, swept the Roman nobility: already the capture of Tarentum and Syracuse in the third century
brought works of art and artists pouring into the new metropolis, and in the second century, with Roman arms established east of the
Adriatic, the tide grew to a flood. It became regular practice for Roman generals and provincial governors to bring back statues,
paintings, and reliefs to decorate their Italian villas; and Greek artists found themselves working full-time to satisfy the demand.