Head of Dionysus
Formerly considered an adaptation from the first half of XIX century of a classical bronze sculpture in the Museo Nazionale, Naples). Now believed to have been inspired by an antique term such as those incorporated by Piranesi into his design for the marble chimneypiece that was executed for the 9th Earl of Exeter, Burghley house, Northamptonshire. The bust was probably executed by the same Italian workshop that produced the Burghley House chimneypiece in the years before 1769.
Artwork Details
- Title: Head of Dionysus
- Artist: Workshop of Luigi Valadier (Italian, Rome 1726–1785 Rome)
- Date: 1783
- Culture: Italian
- Medium: Bust: red griotte marble; eyes: inlaid with white marble with black marble pupils; base: fleur-de-pêcher marble
- Dimensions: Overall (with base): 12 3/8 × 6 1/8 in. (31.4 × 15.6 cm);
Overall (without base): 7 3/8 × 3 3/4 × 3 in. (18.7 × 9.5 × 7.6 cm) - Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
- Object Number: 17.190.816
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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