Dionysos and maenad

An ancient Roman sculptor probably carved this work as an image of the rustic god Priapos with a maenad, a member of the wine god Bacchus’s retinue. By the 18^th century, all that remained was a fragment, composed mostly of the figures’ torsos and drapery. Selectively re-carved, and with heads and legs added, it became Bacchus and his beloved, Ariadne. Sculptors on the continent made an industry creating such confections, which well-heeled travelers on the Grand Tour avidly acquired. An English “milord” purchased this one, and it became part of a famous collection of antiquities at Marbury Hall in Cheshire.