Object type
sculpture
Culture/period
Roman world
Materials
Giallo antico marble
Technique
sculpting
Mint
Production date
1 / 100
Museum
Museu de Badalona
Current location
Exposició permanent
Archaeological site
Ciutat romana de Baetulo. Lateral C-31
Township
Badalona (Europa, Espanya, Catalunya, Barcelona, Barcelonès)
Dimensions
21 x 14,3 x 4,5 cm
Description
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This sculpture shows us the face of the god Bacchus, with long curly hair and beard, eyes marked with deep furrows and marked eyebrows. He wears a flower headband.
It is made of a yellow marble called Giallo Antico, from the imperial quarry of Chemtou, in present-day Tunisia.
It stands out for the delicacy of the relief and the orientalizing style. Most likely, it was made in a specialized workshop in the central Mediterranean, copying or taking inspiration from a Hellenistic piece.
These types of sculptures, called herms, were not free-standing pieces, but heads or busts sculpted on one side with a smooth back. They were normally inserted into a pilaster or formed part of a wall decoration. In this case, it has been possible to document remains of lime and paint that would confirm its insertion in a wall.
These pieces decorated various spaces of the domus, as we see in Empúries and Tarragona, but also shops, as we see in Pompeii. For their owners, they had magical-religious powers to ward off bad luck and bring good luck and wealth in every way to the owners of the house.
© Museu de Badalona
Omeka ID
1906