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Dionysos (fragment from a wall hanging)
Eastern Mediterranean, Possibly from Egypt
Late Roman period-Early Byzantine Period
4th–5th century
Medium/Technique
Undyed linen in plain weave; tapestry weave in wool and undyed linen
Dimensions
139 x 79 cm (54 3/4 x 31 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Charles Potter Kling Fund
Accession Number1973.290
CollectionsFashion and Textiles
ClassificationsTextiles
DescriptionAn impressive fragment of a wool and linen wall hanging with Dionysos, identified by his name – ΔIONY.. OC – written above his head. Dionysos wears a vine and laurel leaf wreath with a pink ribbon against a bright yellow (gold?) halo, is in a relaxed pose in or in front of a gold-covered vaulted niche, his right arm raised behind his head, left holding a golden rhyton. The head and torso are strongly articulated to project physical perfection appropriate for the image of the divine. The youthful yet powerful face is subtly modelled, its plasticity achieved thanks to rich woolen palette.
Preserved just below the waist he is nude, although a grey-blue himation is visible along his right flank brushing the hip, it wraps around his left arm, and around the lower legs on a detached fragment. A small panther sits at his feet.
most likely this is the central section of the original hanging--its fragmentary condition, especially the loss of much of his legs and the setting impacts the appreciation of the panel. The gold vaulted niche with a guilloche decorated arch and partially preserved brackets/entablature/imposts (?) suggest a more substantial architectural frame and spatial depth, but the dark purple surround around Dionysos – at least in the present fragmentary condition – obscures it. His pose in the confine of the niche is somewhat ambiguous. He lounges on an angle that calls for the support of the upper body and the left arm with the rhyton, but the support is not there ( or presently not visible). Although two textile fragments – the Cleveland Art Museum’s Satyr and Maenad and the Abegg-Stiftung’s Kithara Player – considered related to the Boston piece share similar architectural framing and tapestry weaving technique, they do not adequately clarify the overall spatial organization of Dionysos’s panel.
Without any doubt, this was an impressive wall hanging woven mostly as wool tapestry and displaying a substantial architectural setting with the niches with Dionysos and his entourage. It could had consisted of one longer piece or as a set of separate hangings.
Preserved just below the waist he is nude, although a grey-blue himation is visible along his right flank brushing the hip, it wraps around his left arm, and around the lower legs on a detached fragment. A small panther sits at his feet.
most likely this is the central section of the original hanging--its fragmentary condition, especially the loss of much of his legs and the setting impacts the appreciation of the panel. The gold vaulted niche with a guilloche decorated arch and partially preserved brackets/entablature/imposts (?) suggest a more substantial architectural frame and spatial depth, but the dark purple surround around Dionysos – at least in the present fragmentary condition – obscures it. His pose in the confine of the niche is somewhat ambiguous. He lounges on an angle that calls for the support of the upper body and the left arm with the rhyton, but the support is not there ( or presently not visible). Although two textile fragments – the Cleveland Art Museum’s Satyr and Maenad and the Abegg-Stiftung’s Kithara Player – considered related to the Boston piece share similar architectural framing and tapestry weaving technique, they do not adequately clarify the overall spatial organization of Dionysos’s panel.
Without any doubt, this was an impressive wall hanging woven mostly as wool tapestry and displaying a substantial architectural setting with the niches with Dionysos and his entourage. It could had consisted of one longer piece or as a set of separate hangings.
Provenance1973, sold by Frederique (Frieda) Tchacos (dealer), Paris, to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 13, 1973)