Statuette of Dionysos (50 BCE–50 CE): Art, History and Details

Statuette of Dionysos (50 BCE–50 CE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This bronze figure of Dionysos, the god of wine, theater, and the mysteries, is presented in a style recalling Archaic Greek art, most noticeably in his stiff pose and trimmed beard. The more naturalistic folds of his garment speak to a later date, in the Roman period. The disk attached at the top of the head suggests that this figure was once part of an ornate piece of furniture, perhaps a stand or support. In his right hand, the god likely held a kantharos or other attribute. He would have been further embellished with inlaid copper (lips), silver (whites of eyes), and perhaps gilding (garment).

Object facts

• Title: Statuette of Dionysos
• Date: 50 BCE–50 CE
• Culture: Italy, Roman
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: bronze and silver and traces of gilding, hollow cast
• Dimensions: Overall: 39.7 x 17.8 x 16.1 cm (15 5/8 x 7 x 6 5/16 in.)
• Collection: GR - Roman
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 1995.9

A detail from the museum

Over his long, thin garment, Dionysos wears an animal skin, fastened on his left shoulder.

Collection credit

Given in honor of Arthur Fleischman by his parents, Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman

Further reading listed by the museum

• J. Paul Getty Museum, and Cleveland Museum of Art. A Passion for Antiquities: Ancient Art from the Collection of Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman. Malibu, Calif: J. Paul Getty Museum in association with the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1994.
• Pearson, Stephanie. The Triumph and Trade of Egyptian Objects in Rome: Collecting Art in the Ancient Mediterranean. Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH 2021.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.