Italy, Roman / 1–125 CE
Silenus Bust for a Couch
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Silenus Bust for a Couch as sculpture (Italy, Roman · 1–125 CE).
This silenus’s beard is made up of exactly ten ringlets of curls.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as bronze.
The museum's collection notes: This bust of Silenus was part of the fulcrum or armrest of an ancient Roman couch. Silenus was the tutor and companion of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. He is shown with a long curly beard, bushy eyebrows, and wearing a garland of ivy vines with berries. His deerskin robe, tied by the animal’s hoof, falls off his shoulder, suggesting drunkenness. The bust would have been placed at the base of the armrest where it met the seat of the couch, while an animal head likely decorated the top. As is the case with many Roman objects, Romans adapted their couch style and decoration from the Greeks.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtSilenus Bust for a CouchOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.