Infant Bacchus on a Panther
William Wetmore Story
(American, 1819–1895)
1863
Object PlaceRome, Italy
Medium/TechniqueMarble
DimensionsOverall: 123.5 x 123.2 x 47.3 cm (48 5/8 x 48 1/2 x 18 5/8 in.)
Mount (Wooden base with carved and finished surfaces): 75.2 x 60.6 x 135.6 cm (29 5/8 x 23 7/8 x 53 3/8 in.)
Mount (Wooden base with carved and finished surfaces): 75.2 x 60.6 x 135.6 cm (29 5/8 x 23 7/8 x 53 3/8 in.)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Henry Lyman
Accession numberRES.56.65a
On View
On viewClassificationsSculpture
Collections
The Roman fertility god Bacchus (Dionysus to the Greeks) is commonly associated with wine and mirth, the instigator of frenzied bacchanalia where inhibitions were loosened and social mores abandoned. Bacchus is traditionally represented as a young man, often drunk. Here, the intoxicated god is cloaked in deceptive youthful innocence. He rides a panther while holding a cluster of grapes. Abandoned at his feet lies his thyrsus-the wand tipped with a pinecone, an ancient fertility symbol.
ProvenanceTheodore Lyman, Boston; Lyman famiily, Boston; Mrs. Henry Lyman, Brookline, Massachusetts.
