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An ancient Roman sculptor probably carved this work as an image of the rustic god Priapos with a maenad, a member of the wine god Bacchus’s retinue. By the 18th century, all that remained was a fragment, composed mostly of the figures’ torsos and drapery. Selectively re-carved, and with heads and legs added, it became Bacchus and his beloved, Ariadne. Sculptors on the continent made an industry creating such confections, which well-heeled travelers on the Grand Tour avidly acquired. An English “milord” purchased this one, and it became part of a famous collection of antiquities at Marbury Hall in Cheshire.
Dionysos and maenad
Roman
Imperial Period
about 1st–2nd century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Greek and Italian marble,
Dimensions
Overall: 88.9 x 43.2 cm (35 x 17 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Paul E. Manheim
Accession Number68.770
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
An ancient Roman sculptor probably carved this work as an image of the rustic god Priapos with a maenad, a member of the wine god Bacchus’s retinue. By the 18th century, all that remained was a fragment, composed mostly of the figures’ torsos and drapery. Selectively re-carved, and with heads and legs added, it became Bacchus and his beloved, Ariadne. Sculptors on the continent made an industry creating such confections, which well-heeled travelers on the Grand Tour avidly acquired. An English “milord” purchased this one, and it became part of a famous collection of antiquities at Marbury Hall in Cheshire.
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 196; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 112 (additional published references).
DescriptionOnly the body and right leg of Dionysos (perhaps once a Priapos figure) and the body and left knee of the maenad are ancient. Her right hand and wrist remain on Priapos's draped back. The surfaces are somewhat worn and slightly weathered. They have a light yellow to buff color. Graeco-Roman copy of Hellenistic group, heavily restored in the 18th century.
ProvenanceBy 1833: seen by Count Clarac in the Smith Barry Collection, at Marbury Hall, Cheshire; in 1873: seen by Adolf Michaelis at Marbury Hall (A. Michaelis, Ancient Marbles in Great Britain [1882], p. 502, no. 4); by 1946: late Lord Barrymore Collection; 1946: with Sotheby (sold at auction, July 29, 1946 [cited in C. C. Vermeule, AJA 59, 1955, p. 142]); by 1966: Kevorkian Foundation Collection; 1966: with Parke-Bernet, 980 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10021 (Parke-Bernet auction of Kevorkian Foundation Collection, February 25-26, 1966, lot 270); 1966: with Jerome M. Eisenberg, 1000 Madison Avenue, New York (Art of the Ancient World 2, p. 97, illus.); by 1968: Paul E. Manheim Collection; gift of Paul E. Manheim to MFA, December 11, 1968