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Dionysos
Byzantine, Coptic
Early Byzantine Period
A.D. 4th-5th century
Place of Manufacture: Egypt, Alexandria
Medium/Technique
Bone
Dimensions
Height x width: 9.3 × 3.9 cm (3 11/16 × 1 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
John Michael Rodocanachi Fund
Accession Number57.699
CollectionsEurope, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
DescriptionFragment of a convex bone plaque carved in lower relief. Lower part is missing. A young nude male figure stands with head turned towards the left shoulder; he holds the ivy spear or thyrsus in his left hand indicating that he is Dionysos. This plaque is part of a larger composition of Dionysiac figures that once adorned wooden box or a piece of wooden furniture in the household of Roman and early Byzantine Egypt. Presumed to have been made in Alexandria and demonstrating the continuation of Classical themes into the early Byzantine period.
ProvenanceBy 1905: Joseph von Kopf Collection, Rome; by 1957: with Dr. Antonio Agostini, Rome; purchased by MFA from Dr. Antonio Agostini, November 14, 1957 for $ 300- (this figure is the total price for 57.691-699)