Silenus on an Ass
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1600 - 1799
Materials
Bronze
Measurements
340 x 235 x 110 mm; 520 mm (Circ)
Order this imageCollection
Petworth House and Park, West Sussex
NT 483004
Summary
Bronze sculpture on a bronze plinth, Silenus on an Ass. 17th-18th century. A bronze group on a bronze plinth, of Silenus riding a donkey, with his arm around the neck of Bacchus who walks beside him. The Sileni were originally spirits of wild nature rather like satyrs, but by the 6th century BC Silenus appears on the Francois Vase as a bearded man with horse-ears, and he becomes associated with the god Dionysus and is sometimes said to have been his tutor. He possesses special knowledge and the wisdom which is inspired by wine drinking, and is generally drunk.
Provenance
By descent; on loan from Egremont private collection
Marks and inscriptions
84 (painted in white on plinth)