The artistic achievements of ancient Greece, celebrated and imitated throughout history, tower over the art and architecture of many contemporary and subsequent cultures. The art of ancient Greece is primarily known for its monumental stone architecture, unique style of figural vase painting, and graceful sculptures in marble, bronze, and terracotta. The material culture of Greece also includes many smaller scale works of art that are not any less magnificent in spite of their size. These include a wide array of finely made gold jewelry, silver and bronze vessels, engraved gemstones, coins, terracotta figurines, and statuettes of bronze. In its widest chronological scope the art of Greece began in the third millennium B.C. and extend through the end of the Hellenistic period in the first century B.C. However its influence continued in the Roman period and survived intervening centuries to impact the art of the Renaissance and our own modern era. Greek art has an extensive geographical range and is confined not only to works made in mainland Greece, but also the Greek Islands of the Aegean and Ionian Seas. It extends from the western Mediterranean colonies, primarily in Sicily and south Italy to cities and trading outposts in Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean, penetrating even into western and central Asia.