Marble relief with a dancing maenad
ca. 27 BCE–14 CE
Medium
Marble, Pentelic
Dimensions
H. 56 5/16 in. (143 cm)
Classification
Stone Sculpture
Culture & Period
Roman · Early Imperial, Augustan
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1935
Accession Number
35.11.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite marble relief, titled *Marble Relief with a Dancing Maenad* attributed to the sculptor Kallimachos, dates to the Early Imperial Augustan period (. 27 BCE–14 CE). Carved from fine Pentelic marble—a prized white stone quarried near Athens and favored for its luminous translucency—this 56-inch-high (143 cm) sculpture captures a maenad, one of the ecstatic female followers of the god Dionysus (Bacchus to the Romans), mid-dance. Her swirling drapery and dynamic pose evoke the wild, ritualistic revelry of Bacchic cults, blending grace with abandon. Created during Augustus's reign, wh...