Barry invited me to the Brooklyn Museum the other day, which is considerably smaller than the Met but still has an interesting collection nevertheless. Their largest exhibit is definitely ancient Assyrian and Egyptian art, which included this genie:

After seeing about a half-dozen similar gentlemen like this with bulging calf muscles, Barry said, "Oh... they're all carrying pails and pinecones. So this is where we're at. This is what's important then. Pails and pinecones. He has his little pail there, and he has his pinecones. Great."