WED, OCT 17: Vincent van Gogh’s 1884 canvas, The Ox-Cart , has a new home in the Portland Art Museum, thanks to the generous gift of the Sohn family of Roseburg, Oregon.

Candelabra, or lamp stands, supported the oil lamps that the Romans used for light. A bronze or terracotta lamp would be placed on top of the stand, while hooks on the sides would hold chains from which other lamps could be suspended. Similar examples have been found in the excavations at Pompeii.

Hermaphroditus was a half-male, half-female deity who was the child of the messenger-god Hermes and Aphrodite, goddess of love. A favorite subject of Hellenistic and Roman artists, he was depicted with breasts, male genitals, and a voluptuous body. Images of Hermaphroditus were placed in gymnasia, baths, theaters, and homes. The small size of this example suggests that it was made as a decorative object or for a household shrine.

Two small horns grow from the satyr’s forehead, his ears are pointed like a goat’s, and he wears a garland over his short, unruly locks. The head was once part of a larger work, perhaps a herm (a bust mounted on a square post). Statues and herms of satyrs were commonly found as decorations in the gardens of Roman villas. The eyes and lips were originally inlaid.

This type of jug was used to hold wine or water at the dinner table. Made of free-blown glass, this example is composed of a green-toned, slightly iridescent glass and is decorated with a thread around the neck and another around the mouth, made by trailing molten glass around the vessel when it was still hot.