Lot Essay
The Roman love of decorative sculpture with Bacchic themes, often with humorous overtones, is well documented from Pompeii and elsewhere. As here, where Silenus pours wine from a wineskin, the mature satyr was usually shown engaging in Dionysiac activities, including making music and holding the infant Bacchus (cf. nos. 214-215 in E. Simon, 'Silenoi', LIMC VIII, Zurich and Düsseldorf, 1997). For a very similar ageing satyr with fleshy pectorals and abdomen pouring wine from a skin balanced on his thigh cf. D. Boschung and H. von Hesberg, Die antiken Skulpturen in Newby Hall, sowie in anderen Sammlungen in Yorkshire, Wiesbaden, 2007 , pp. 54-56, pls 24-25, no. 16.