A Maenad
sculptor
Unknown
Dateabout 100
Place MadeAncient & Byzantine World-Europe
MediumPentelic marble
Dimensions143.5 x 58.4 cm (56 1/2 x 23 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberS5s19
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis relief, set over the courtyard fountain, belongs to a series of eight Maenads (the seven others were unearthed separately in Rome in 1908 and are now in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome). Together, they formed a cylindrical frieze of exuberantly dancing women that was probably the base of a tripod dedicated to Bacchus. Maenads were female followers of Bacchus who danced themselves into orgiastic frenzies.
Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 9.
Id716661
Last Updated11/8/24
Previous NumberS5s34
EmbARK ObjectID11234
Source ID477
