Cameo Glass Plaque Fragment with Figure Supporting Dionysus

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Cameo Glass Plaque Fragment with Figure Supporting Dionysus

Place of OriginLikely Rome

Date1st century CE

DimensionsL: 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm); W: 1 1/2 in. (3.7 cm)

MediumCameo glass

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1545

Not on View

DescriptionThis small flat fragment preserves the upper part of a Dionysiac scene in cameo relief. Modeled in white glass over cobalt blue, it depicts a nude figure—perhaps a satyr—supporting a second reclining figure, interpreted as Dionysos or possibly a female figure such as Ariadne. The second figure's arms are wrapped around the satyr’s neck in a collapsing posture. A plane tree appears to the left. The relief is under 0.1 cm thick and very flat, with a graphic rather than sculptural style. Surface detail is rendered in linear incisions, with minor attempts at shading, particularly in the neck area. One edge of the plaque is preserved.

Label TextThis fragment from a Roman cameo glass plaque shows a nude figure (perhaps a satyr?) supporting a stumbling figure—likely a drunken Dionysos—whose arms are draped around the nude figure's neck. The modeling, done in white over blue, is shallow and linear, with few sculptural features. The composition recalls known Dionysiac scenes in Roman sculpture and glass, including a cameo bowl fragment at Dumbarton Oaks that reverses this pose. One edge is preserved. The scene’s mythological content reflect the popularity of Dionysian themes in Roman luxury objects from the early Empire.Comparative ReferencesCf. G. M. A. Richter, Catalogue of Greek and Roman Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (Cambridge, MA, 1956), 65, no. 45, plate 18C.