Inv.# 2791
$500
Greek Terracotta Bust of Dionysos
An ancient Greek terracotta bust of the god Dionysos. The god of wine and revelry reclines with his chest exposed and holds a wine cup. He wears a crown and a long beard.
Ca. 4th century BC.
Height: 4 1/4 in. (11 cm).
Dionysos (Latin: Bacchus or Liber) was the god of wine. Consequently he was seen as the personification of the life force of the vine and vegitation and the earth's fertiltiy. He was a volatile god whose rites were celebrated in an ecstatic and orgiastic fashion. His female devotees were the Maenads (Bacchantes) and their drunken and lascivious male counterparts were the Satyrs (Fauns). Drunken old Silenos was also a member of his retinue. No where in ancient literature is the passion and fury of Dionysos better articulated than in Euripides tragedy, "The Bacchantes," (ca. 406 BC). Where Dionysos and the women of Thebes exact a terrible revenge on young prince Pentheus for his failure to pay homage to the god.
Formerly in the collection of Joseph Palisi, acquired in Sicily in the 1950's, where he worked for the U.S. State Department.
GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC
HIXENBAVGH
ANCIENT ART