Rome, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 2nd century CE. A carved marble herm depicting the bearded Olympian god Bacchus (Greek Dionysos or Dionysus) - god of wine, pleasure, ritual madness, ecstasy, and theatre. This piece happens to be an early portrayal of Bacchus, as it shows him with a full beard. In the 2nd century CE, Roman artists started depicting him as a youth, with a smooth face. The cult of Bacchus was hugely popular, signifying the freedom created by wine, music, and ecstatic dance. Romans knew how to party! An outstanding example with skillfully delineated facial features including his wavy beard and mustache, recessed eyes (once inlaid), arched brows meeting at the bridge of his aquiline nose, and gently smiling lips. He wears a wreath in this long coiffure, and the verso is flat. Size: 5.75" H (14.6 cm); 7.625" H (19.4 cm) on included custom stand.

Herm or herma are sculptures with a head, sometimes a torso, and male genitals carved at the appropriate height. They are thought to derive from the ancient Greek practice of worshipping divinities that were in the form of cairns or columns of stone or wood. These later evolved into adding a head and phallus to the column. Many herma are of Hermes himself, but others - both gods and real figures like Socrates and Plato - are known. Statues like this one were apotropaic and kept in many places - at crossroads, in temples, in public places, and in homes.

Compare with a similar, though somewhat larger example, at the Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Object Number - MS3475). See https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/86206

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private Queensland, Australia collection, acquired in the early 20th century by the present owner's grandfather-in-law, Domenico Odino

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#130842

Old losses to end of beard and lower end of piece. Normal surface wear with some abraded areas commensurate with age. Covered with root marks.