Ivory Pyx with the Triumph of Dionysos in India

mid-500s
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 301
Dionysos, a son of Zeus, rides in his chariot overseeing his conquest of India as described by the fifth-century Egyptian poet Nonnos of Panopolis: "Lord Bacchus [Dionysos] spoke…Indian slaying servants of invincible Dionysos! Bind them all fast unresisting, the sons of the Indians, take them all prisoners in bloodless conflict."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ivory Pyx with the Triumph of Dionysos in India
  • Date: mid-500s
  • Geography: Made in possibly Syria
  • Culture: Byzantine
  • Medium: Elephant ivory
  • Dimensions: Overall: 3 3/16 x 4 7/8 x 4 1/2 in. (8.1 x 12.4 x 11.4 cm)
  • Classification: Ivories-Elephant
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.190.56
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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