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Drunken Silenus (the "Tazza Farnese")

A work made of engraving on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of engraving on ivory laid paper.

Date:

c. 1597

Artist:

Annibale Carracci
Italian, 1560-1609

About this artwork

Contemporary accounts described the slightly curved printing plate (Capodimonte Museum, Naples) for this Carracci engraving as an artwork and a vessel for drinking or serving wine: “More beautiful … is Silenos engraved on a silver salver for Cardinal Farnese.” A Roman gem from Farnese’s extensive collection likely supplied the image, while the plate’s shape mimicked ancient kylixes, such as this one (1889.118), which was incised with a delicate geometrical design while the clay was still wet. Greek black-glazed wares made of terracotta resembled more expensive metal counterparts, which might have been stamped and incised much like Carracci’s silver salver.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Annibale Carracci

Title

Drunken Silenus (the "Tazza Farnese")

Place

Italy (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1592–1602

Medium

Engraving on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Image in: Diam.: 32 cm (12 5/8 in.); Sheet: 42.7 × 32 cm (16 13/16 × 12 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

The Regenstein Collection

Reference Number

1989.172

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/74123/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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