Roman copy of Greek original. Adaptation of a Greek work of the 4th century B.C.
Dionysos, god of wine and divine intoxication, wears a panther skin over his short chiton and his high sandals with animal heads on the overhanging skin flaps. He stands beside an archaistic female image whose pose and dress imitate those of Greek statues carved in the sixth century B.C. It is difficult to know whether the original Greek bronze statue of Dionysos, of which this is a copy, included the female figure. Supports in the form of pillars, herms, and small statues were not uncommon in Classical art, but this figure may have been added to support the outstretched arm and may represent Spes, a Roman personification of Hope, who was commonly shown as an archaistic maiden.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Statue of Dionysos leaning on a female figure ("Hope Dionysos")
Artist:Restored by Pacetti, Vincenzo
Period:Augustan or Julio-Claudian
Date:27 BCE–68 CE
Culture:Roman
Medium:Marble
Dimensions:H. 82 3/4 in. (210.2 cm)
Classification:Stone Sculpture
Credit Line:Gift of The Frederick W. Richmond Foundation, Judy and Michael Steinhardt, and Mr. and Mrs. A. Alfred Taubman, 1990
The cleaning and restoration of this sculpture was made possible by a generous grant from the Edward John Noble Foundation, Inc
Object Number:1990.247
Until 1796, collection of the Aldobrandini family, Aldobrandini Palace, Rome; 1796, purchased by Vicenzo Pacetti from the Aldobrandini family; 1796, acquired by Henry Philip Hope from Vicenzo Pacetti; 1796-1917, the Hope collection, displayed at the Duchess Street mansion, London and (after 1835) at Deepdene House, Dorking, Surrey, England (both residences of Thomas Hope, elder brother of Henry P. Hope, and of his descendants); 1917, purchased by Mr. Francis Howard through Christie's, London; 1917-1954, collection of Mr. Francis Howard; until 1990, private collection, Palm Beach, Florida, USA; acquired in 1990, purchased through Sotheby's, New York.
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Hope, Thomas. 1807. Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, executed from designs by Thomas Hope. pl. I, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme.
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Westmacott, Charles Molloy. 1824. British Galleries of Painting and Sculpture: comprising a general historical and critical catalogue, with separate notices of every work of fine art in the principal collections. p. 221, London: Sherwood, Jones & Co.
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Christie's, London. 1917. Celebrated collection of Greek, Roman & Egyptian sculpture and ancient Greek vases, being a portion of the Hope Heirlooms. July 23–24, 1917. Lot 257.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1920. "Recent Accessions of the Classical Department." Bullletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 15(5): p. 108.
Zancani, D. 1924. "Della testa di Dionysos del museo capitolino e del tipo statuario al quale appartiene." Bullettino della Commissione archeologica Comunale di Roma, 52: pp. 65–90, pl. 3.
Waldhauer, Oskar Ferdinandovich. 1931. Die Antiken Skulpturen der Ermitage II, Vol. 2. nos. 128, 129, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co.
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Karoglou, Kyriaki. 2019. "An Early Hellenistic Votive Statuette in The Metropolitan Museum of Art : Dionysos Melanaigis?." Art of the Hellenistic Kingdoms from Pergamon to Rome, Seán Hemingway and Kyriaki Karoglou, eds. pp.99, 101, fig. 4, New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than 30,000 works ranging in date from the Neolithic period to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312.
