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Statue of a Young Satyr Wearing a Theater Mask of Silenos

A stone sculpture of a very young, infant-like child standing and wearing a mask in the shape of an older, bearded man. The child pushes its tiny hand through the mask's mouth hole.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A stone sculpture of a very young, infant-like child standing and wearing a mask in the shape of an older, bearded man. The child pushes its tiny hand through the mask's mouth hole.

Date:

About 1st century

Artist:

Roman
Restorations by Alessandro Algardi, 1628

About this artwork

A young satyr thrusts his hand through the mouth of a theater mask of Silenos (an old satyr) in a gesture that is both mischievous and menacing. This work may have been part of a statuary group that included another figure whom the satyr is attempting to frighten either in jest or in earnest. Although this subject is frequently found in relief sculpture, particularly on sarcophagi (coffins) and gemstones, this is the only known extant version in a work sculpted in the round. The important 17th-century sculptor Alessandro Algardi restored this statue when it was in the collection of the wealthy Ludovisi family in Rome.

Status

On View, Gallery 150

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Roman

Title

Statue of a Young Satyr Wearing a Theater Mask of Silenos

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.

1 CE–100 CE

Medium

Marble

Dimensions

58.4 × 50.8 × 23.4 cm (23 × 20 × 9 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Anonymous loan

Reference Number

4.2014

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/221975/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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