Statue of Young Dionysos
100 BCE-100 CE
Medium
Bronze, copper, and silver (modern)
Dimensions
135.8 × 62 × 52 cm (54 × 24 1/2 × 20 in.)
Classification
sculpture
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
217295
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This statue depicting Dionysos, god of wine and theater, is one of very few bronze statues to have survived from antiquity. It is thought that he once held a kantharos, or wine cup, in his raised right arm and may have held a thyrsos, a staff topped by a pine cone, in his left, since the deity is shown holding them in other ancient sculptures and paintings.
About the Artist
Ancient Roman
The artists attributed to "Ancient Roman" in museum collections represent the anonymous craftsmen who produced the vast output of sculpture, frescoes, mosaics, and reliefs defining Roman visual culture from the Republic (c. 509–27 BCE) to the late Empire (c. 395 CE). Individual identities remain elusive, as Roman makers were typically viewed as skilled tradesmen—often enslaved Greeks or provincial...