Ancient Roman Marble Relief with a Satyr. 1st century A.D. 24 cm height.

Relief with a Satyr.

Ancient Roman, 1st century AD.

Marble.

24 cm height and 17 cm width.

Condition: Good condition, without restorations, presents a patina of concretions.

Provenance:

- Private collection, Brittany, France.
- Galerie Ghezelbash, Paris.

Description:


Relief carved in marble belonging to one of the scenes that decorated a Roman sarcophagus. It represents a young satyr with a beardless face and short hair, dressed in a tunic and adorned with a panther skin, identifying the thiaso or retinue of the god Dionysus/Bacchus. At the height of the left elbow, the head and two of the beast's legs can be clearly seen, details that are usually highlighted in this type of representations to identify the character as a satyr (fig. 1). The figure, of which the upper half is preserved, shows the body facing the viewer and the face in profile to the left of the composition. Behind him rises a cloak lifted by the breeze; It would belong to a companion of the character, probably a maenad whose clothes rise with the momentum of her dance (fig. 2). The satyr is represented as a young man of ideal beauty, of clear classical Greek inspiration: straight and well-proportioned nose, jaw with soft lines, well-defined eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes worked in relief and a mouth with full lips, slightly parted as if the sculpture were breathing. . The hair is made from well-differentiated wavy strands, which cover the temples and swirl over the forehead, reflecting the satyr's wild nature.

It is an exquisite relief, of high quality, that plays with differences in volume to suggest spatial depth. To do this, the schiacciato technique is applied, which allows the volumes to be enhanced and create an effective three-dimensional illusion through minimal variations in the depth of the carved relief. Thus, the head appears worked practically in a round shape, especially the face, while the shoulders are left in half shape and other details, such as the panther's legs on the cloak, are carved in much smaller relief.

Satyrs in Greece were mythological beings usually represented with an animalistic appearance, with legs and ears of a goat or horse, horns and tail, and frequently ithyphallic. On occasions, however, these beings were represented as beautiful young men, as is the case of the Resting Satyr of Praxiteles. Along with the maenads, the satyrs form the procession that accompanies the god Dionysus, although they may also be associated with the god Pan. Some traditions consider Silenus the father of the satyr tribe. The three eldest of these, called Maron, Lenaeus and Astraeus, were equal to their father, and by them were also known as Sileni. According to some versions of the myth, they would have been the fathers of the satyrs, who would therefore be the grandchildren of Silenus. The three Sileni were part of Dionysus' entourage when he traveled to India and, in fact, Astreus was the driver of his chariot.

In Rome, the equivalent of the satyr was the faun, forest creatures with horns and hooves.
of goat. They were the children of Faunus, identified with the Greek Pan, the god of the fields and forests and protector of the flocks, which he made more fertile and defended from attacks by vermin. In another aspect, Faunus was considered a prophetic god who revealed the future through voices heard in the forests or through dreams; It was sometimes considered responsible for nighttime nightmares. He was represented with a lascivious character, constantly chasing the nymphs of the forests. It was thought that sometimes it could send curses against the peasants, so they rubbed their bodies with certain protective herbs.

The appearance of Bacchic themes in the Roman funerary context is frequent, since Dionysus unites in his own person the human and the divine, mortality and immortality. He is the only Olympian with a human mother, and experienced death by being dismembered by the titans, although his immortal nature prevailed. Life and death come into tension in his personality, and it is he who provides his followers with the lysis, relaxation and dissolution of the psyche that frees the soul and functions symbolically as a liberation of the spirit after the death of the body. This is why the themes linked to his figure and his cult were especially suitable for a liminal space, halfway between the world of the living and the world of the dead, such as the funerary monument (fig. 3).

Bibliography:

- ELVIRA BARBA, M.A. Art and Myth. Manual of classical iconography. Flint. 2008.
- DE GRUMMON, E. “Bacchic Imagery and Cult Practice in Roman Italy”, in The Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii: Ancient Ritual, Modern Muse. Kelsey Museum of Archeology and the University of Michigan Museum of Art. 2000. Pp. 73-83.
- KLEINER, D.E. Roman sculpture. Yale University Press. 1992.
- KLINE, L.K.; ELKINS, N.T. The Oxford Handbook of Roman Imagery and Iconography. Oxford University Press. 2022.
- SEAFORD, R. Dionysos. Routledge. 2006.

Parallels:

Fig. 1 Relief with satyr and maenad. Roman Empire, c. 27 BC - 68 AD Terracotta, 45.1 x 49.4 cm. Metropolitan Museum, New York, inv. 12.232.8b.

Fig. 2 Sarcophagus with Bacchus and his entourage. Rome, h. 230-235 AD Marble, 97 x 209 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris, inv. LL 49 ; No. 540; Ma 1346.1.

Fig. 3 Front of sarcophagus with the wedding procession of Bacchus and Ariadne. Rome, s. II AD Marble, 53.5 x 219.5 cm. British Museum, London, inv. 1805,0703.130.






Notes:
The piece includes authenticity certificate.
The piece includes Spanish Export License.
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