Bronze statuette of a satyr with a torch and wineskin

Bronze statuette of a satyr with a torch and wineskin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Thiasoi were jubilant celebrations in honor of Dionysos that were attended by satyrs and maenads. From ancient literature, we learn that thiasoi occurred outdoors, and often at night. This fine bronze satyr can be identified as a participant in one such revel. An unusual aspect of his iconography is the inverted torch, a motif with great narrative potential, for the satyr may be extinguishing it or perhaps lighting it from a hearth. The full wineskin implies the latter and evokes the promise of a long, boisterous evening of drunken merriment.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bronze statuette of a satyr with a torch and wineskinBronze statuette of a satyr with a torch and wineskinBronze statuette of a satyr with a torch and wineskinBronze statuette of a satyr with a torch and wineskinBronze statuette of a satyr with a torch and wineskin

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.