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Sarcophagus with triumph of Dionysos
Roman
Imperial Period
about A.D. 215–225
Medium/Technique
Marble, from the island of Proconnesus in the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul
Dimensions
Overall: 77.5 x 208cm (30 1/2 x 81 7/8in.)
Other (Body): 59cm (23 1/4in.)
Other (lid): 18.5cm (7 5/16in.)
Case (Rolling steel pedestal with wooden skirts/plex-bonnet): 77.5 x 228.6 x 76.5 cm (30 1/2 x 90 x 30 1/8 in.)
Other (Body): 59cm (23 1/4in.)
Other (lid): 18.5cm (7 5/16in.)
Case (Rolling steel pedestal with wooden skirts/plex-bonnet): 77.5 x 228.6 x 76.5 cm (30 1/2 x 90 x 30 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
William Francis Warden Fund
Accession Number1972.650
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
By the second century A.D., Roman funeral practices were in general trending away from cremation in favor of burial. As was typical, this marble sarcophagus was carved on three sides with images that reflect individual interests and cultural beliefs. The Dionysiac theme encountered here was a popular one, probably expressing the hope that the deceased would overcome death by enjoying eternal ecstatic bliss.
The front relief presents a lively interpretation of the mythical triumph of Dionysus, showing the god of wine returning from a campaign to spread his cult and the grapevine to India. Standing in an elephant-drawn chariot, the androgynous Dionysus follows a parade of satyrs, maenads, and erotes who dance, play music, and carry ritual objects. At the right, Hercules, suffering the effects of his famous drinking contest with Dionysus, lurches unsteadily toward a maenad. The exotic animals interspersed among the retinue, including a giraffe and a lion, evoke the East.
One of the finest examples anywhere, this sarcophagus probably belonged to the family tomb of the Roman praetor (magistrate) Marcus Vibius Liberalis; an inscription on the base lovingly dedicates it to his guardian. The virtuoso carving, featuring deeply undercut figures almost fully in the round, suggests a date in the early third century. The use of island marble quarried on the island of Proconnesus in the Sea of Marmara may indicate that a sculptors' workshop in Asia Minor labored to supply the demands of the thriving Roman market.
The front relief presents a lively interpretation of the mythical triumph of Dionysus, showing the god of wine returning from a campaign to spread his cult and the grapevine to India. Standing in an elephant-drawn chariot, the androgynous Dionysus follows a parade of satyrs, maenads, and erotes who dance, play music, and carry ritual objects. At the right, Hercules, suffering the effects of his famous drinking contest with Dionysus, lurches unsteadily toward a maenad. The exotic animals interspersed among the retinue, including a giraffe and a lion, evoke the East.
One of the finest examples anywhere, this sarcophagus probably belonged to the family tomb of the Roman praetor (magistrate) Marcus Vibius Liberalis; an inscription on the base lovingly dedicates it to his guardian. The virtuoso carving, featuring deeply undercut figures almost fully in the round, suggests a date in the early third century. The use of island marble quarried on the island of Proconnesus in the Sea of Marmara may indicate that a sculptors' workshop in Asia Minor labored to supply the demands of the thriving Roman market.
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 244; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 113 (additional published references); Highlights: Classical Art (MFA), p. 108-109.
DescriptionThe god of wine and dramatic festivals, in full choral attitude, steps into a biga drawn by two Indian elephants with fringed cloths on their backs. He is supported by his companion the satyr Ampelos and attended by the complete Dionysiac train of Sileni, pans, satyrs, maenads, and the exotic animals of his triumph in India.
The inscription reads :M~VIBIO~M~FIL~LIBERALI~PRAET~M~VIBIVS~AGESILAVS~IVNIOR~NVTRICIO~SUO~FEC ("Marcus Vibius Agesilaus junior made (it) for Marcus Vibius Liberalis, son of Marcus, the praetor, his foster-father" ).
The condition is, generally speaking, superb, with the small breaks, missing limbs, and absent attributes apparent from illustrations. The surfaces, particularly of the nude or seminude figures, retain their high polish. There are no restorations of the kind that ruin so many sarcophagi. The sections cracked or broken through have been carefully rejoined, and the missing pieces of the lid hardly detract from the visual sweep and rhythm of the triumphal procession. The three-volume corpus of Dionysiac sarcophagi reveals that very few of these monuments of Greek art in the Roman Empire have their original (or any) lids preserved in any form or condition.
The inscription reads :M~VIBIO~M~FIL~LIBERALI~PRAET~M~VIBIVS~AGESILAVS~IVNIOR~NVTRICIO~SUO~FEC ("Marcus Vibius Agesilaus junior made (it) for Marcus Vibius Liberalis, son of Marcus, the praetor, his foster-father" ).
The condition is, generally speaking, superb, with the small breaks, missing limbs, and absent attributes apparent from illustrations. The surfaces, particularly of the nude or seminude figures, retain their high polish. There are no restorations of the kind that ruin so many sarcophagi. The sections cracked or broken through have been carefully rejoined, and the missing pieces of the lid hardly detract from the visual sweep and rhythm of the triumphal procession. The three-volume corpus of Dionysiac sarcophagi reveals that very few of these monuments of Greek art in the Roman Empire have their original (or any) lids preserved in any form or condition.
InscriptionsAn inscription along the lower edge reads, "Marcus Vibius Agesilaus Junior made it (i.e. set up this monument?) for Marcus Liberalis, the son of Marcus, the Praetor, his tutor" or "who brought him up."
ProvenanceBy 1972, Jeannette Brun (dealer), Zurich [see note]; 1972, sold by Brun to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 7, 1972)
NOTE: according to the dealer at the time of acquisition, it was acquired from “an international banker in northwest Europe.”
NOTE: according to the dealer at the time of acquisition, it was acquired from “an international banker in northwest Europe.”