Satyr with the child Dionysus
Cameo.Sardonyx-agate.
1st century BCE. Inv. No. 25880.Naples, National Archaeological MuseumPhoto by Luciano Pedicini
Satyr with the child Dionysus.
Cameo.
Sardonyx-agate.
1st century BCE.
Sardonyx-agate.
1st century BCE.
Inv. No. 25880.
Naples, National Archaeological Museum
(Napoli, Museo archeologico nazionale).
Origin:
From the Medici collection.
Description:
The child Dionysus playing with the Satyrs on the hills of Nysa where the Nymphs raised him became one of the favourite themes of Classic art from the 4th century B.C. onwards. A renowned example is Praxiteles’ Hermes with the child Dionysus in Olympia In the Augustan classicist revival, the theme became popular once again, as many decorative objects of this period bear out.
The syrinx and shepherd’s crook laid on the stone allude to the rural nature of the divine being. One of the signs of the fortune of this gem in the Renaissance is its faithful reproduction on a marble medallion in the courtyard of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Firenze, made by Donatello’s workshop. 1st century B.C.
Credits:
© 1996. Photo, text: Stefano De Caro, “The National Archaeological Museum of Naples”.
Soprintendenza Archeologica di Napoli e Caserta. Electa, Napoli, 2001, p. 345.
© 1996. Photo: Luciano Pedicini.
Soprintendenza Archeologica di Napoli e Caserta. Electa, Napoli, 2001, p. 345.
© 1996. Photo: Luciano Pedicini.
Keywords: gemma glyptics gem gems glittica gliptica gemme glyptik glyptique ελληνική μυθολογία mythologia graeca greek mythology mitologia greca griechische mythologie grecque ρωμαϊκή romana roman römische romaine διώνυσος dionysus dioniso dionysos σάτυρος σάτυροι satyros satyroi satur saturus satyr satyrs satiro satiri satyrn satyre satyres romano romani römischer romain καμέα κάμερες cameo cameos cammeo cammei kamee camée kameo βάκχος bacchus bacco musical instrument strumento musicale musikinstrument de musique μουσικό όργανο sardonyx sardonica sardoine from the medici collection collezione sammlung syrinx pan flutes pipes panpipes reed flauto di siringa panflöte flûte σῦριγξ lagobolon pedum shepherd’s crook of shepherd crooked staff truffatore pastore bastone da agate child infant inv no 25880
