Bacchanalian Scene
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1800 - 1825
Materials
Painted plaster
Measurements
570 x 800 x 50 mm
Order this imageCollection
Knole, Kent
NT 128672
Summary
Procession of the God Bacchus and his followers, set in a simple relief frame and is based on a marble relief of about 50 AD, a version of which is in the Museum of Naples.
Full description
The scene is set in a simple relief frame and is based on a marble relief of about 50 AD, a version of which is in the Museum of Naples. It shows a thiasus or ecstatic procession with the god Bacchus. He is the male figure in the centre leaning against an acolyte. At the head of the procession a man carries a krater, an urn filled with wine, and behind him a woman plays cymbals. Under the legs of Bacchus is a leopard, an animal associated with the god. A cupid holds the staff of the bearer, behind him a woman plays on an aulos. The chest of the man carrying Bacchus is damaged and in 1969 one of the Sackville family's youthful friends wrote his signature on the leg of the left figure: 'Alan Pennal 1969'.
Provenance
Possibly acquired by Charles 1st Earl Whitworth (1752-1825)
Credit line
National Trust Collections (Knole, The Sackville Collection)
Marks and inscriptions
Leg of left hand figure, pencil: "Alan Pennal 1969"