Roman Carrara Marble Group: a Satyr, Bacchus (Dionysus) and Pan

Marble group of carved statuettes featuring a nude satyr carrying a young Dionysus on his shoulders. They are accompanied by Pan playing his pipes and a small child who rides a panther.

h. 67,5 x w. 33 x Ø 20 cm

Early 3rd century AD

Fine-grained grey-white marble (Carrara)

Provenance

Formerly in the Palazzo Corsini Lungarno, Florence
Ex-collection Henning Throne-Holst, Rome, 1960
Acquired by Royal-Athena Galleries at Christie's Sale, The Henning Throne-Holst collection, London, June 8, 1988, lot 43
Sold to William Haber, Beverly Hills, CA, October 1, 1988
Re-acquired by Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, 2004
Sold to M. B., Woodland Hills, CA, January 1, 2005
Re-acquired by Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, October 1, 2009
Acquired at Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, November 30, 2009, BM0907C

Publications

H. Dütschke, Antike Bildwerke in Oberitalien II, Zerstreute antike Bildwerke in Florenz, Leipzig, Verlag von W. Engelmann, 1875, p. 118, no. 292
A. Minto, Satiro con Bacco fanciullo, Gruppo frammentario in Firenze, estratto da Ausonia anno 8, 1913, pp. 96-97, fig. 5
O. Vessberg, Sculptures in the Throne‐Holst Collection, Medelhavsmuseet Bulletin Stockholm, 1962, pp. 42-46, fig. 3-4
A. Andrén, Antik skulptur i svenska samlingar, Stockholm: Natur och kultur, 1964, pl. 25 with text
P. Gercke, Zur Gruppe: Satyr mit Dionysosknaben auf der Schulter, Opus Nobile. Festschrift zum 60. Geburtstag von Ulf Jantzen, Wiesbaden: F. Steiner, 1969, pp. 48‐9, especially fn. 3
C. Dierks‐Kiehl, Zu späthellenistischen bewegten Figuren der 2. Hälfte des 2. Jahrhunderts, Freiburg: doctoral thesis, 1973, pp. 86-87, especially fn. 23
Christie's London, The Henning Throne-Holst collection, June 8, 1988, pp. 40-41, lot 43
K. Kell, Formuntersuchungen zu spät‐und nachhellenistischen Gruppen, Saarbrücken: Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag, 1988, pp. 40-43, especially fn. 130
P. Bol, Forschungen zur Villa Albani. Katalog der antike Bildwerke II, Berlin: Mann (ed.), Berlin, 1990, pp. 289-293, especially at fn. 7
J. M. Eisenberg, Art of the Ancient World, Royal-Athena Galleries, 2005, vol. XVI, p. 7, fig. 9
J. Pollini, "Roman Marble Sculpture" in M. Merrony (ed.), Mougins Museum of Classical Art, France, 2011, p. 95, fig. 41
Sir John Boardman, Apollo Magazine, Museum Opening of the Year, December 1, 2011, p. 59
J. Lenaghan, Le Banquet de Marseille à Rome: Plaisir et Jeux de Pouvoir, Lienart, 2016, p. 59
N. Benazeth, "Dining with Socrates and Nero", Minerva: the International Review of Ancient Art & Archaeology, May/June 2017, p. 25, fig. 14
Ville de Mougins, "C'est quoi cette oeuvre?'", Mougins Infos, France, Eté 2021, no. 79, p. 29
S. Cascone, in The Art Net (ed.), 'It's a Bittersweet Situation', October 31, 2023

Exhibitions

Musée d'Art Classique de Mougins (MACM), Mougins, France, from June 2011
Le Banquet: de Marseille à Rome, Plaisir et Jeux de Pouvoir, Centre de la Vieille Charité, Musée d’Archéologie Méditerranéenne, Marseille, France, December 3, 2016 — June 30, 2017

N.B. Our online collection is being continually updated thanks to ongoing research and documentation efforts carried out by The Levett Collection - FAMM documentation team. Any additional information is welcome, please contact us.