Cameo Glass Plaque Fragment with Figure Supporting Dionysus
Cameo Glass Plaque Fragment with Figure Supporting Dionysus
Place of OriginItaly, probably 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
DescriptionFlat fragment of a cameo glass plaque. Modeled in opaque white over cobalt blue glass. The scene shows a nude figure, possibly a satyr, supporting another figure in a collapsed pose. The second figure, possibly Dionysos or a female figure such as Ariadne, has arms wrapped around the first figure's neck. A plane tree appears to the left. The relief is very shallow (under 0.1 cm) and rendered with incised linear detailing, especially in the neck area. The modeling is graphic and flat, with minimal three-dimensional depth. 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.
1st century CE
1st century BCE - 3rd century CE
1st-2nd century CE
1st century BCE - 3rd century CE
1st century BCE - 3rd century CE
1st century CE
1st century BCE - 3rd century CE
2nd-1st century B.C.E.
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