Decorative Bust of a Silenus

This small but elaborately modeled bust depicts a silenus, a jovial, heavy old man who often accompanies Bacchus in scenes of feasting and drinking. The work's wealth of detail was created by the complex lostwax method. The figure's beard cascades in magnificently rendered corkscrew curls down his chest, and a twisted wreath of ivy leaves-often associated with Bacchus- and berries sits in his hair. A goatskin is wrapped on his left side, tied with a cloven hoof that falls over his shoulder. A number of precious materials were used: the inlaid, piercing eyes are silver, with the pupil sockets deeply hollowed, while copper inlay was used for the berries, lips, and nipple.

The silenus would have been used as a finial on a support (or fulcrum) forming the headrest or armrest of a reclining couch, used by wealthy Romans when resting or eating. It is an astonishingly well-modeled and high-quality example of Roman decorative arts, and significantly broadens the scope of the AMAM's collection of ancient bronzes. The sculpture was in the collection of the well-known antiquities collector the Countess de Béhague (1870-1939) in France in the early twentieth century.