Roman
Dancing Maenad Relief, about 50 BCE
Marble, 143.5 x 58.4 cm (56 1/2 x 23 in.)
This relief of a thin, young woman is made of marble. The marble slab is a vertical rectangle with a triangular piece cut out from the right top corner at a 45 degree angle. The cut starts at the top of the maenad's head and ends just below her shoulder. Her upper body is turned to her right with her right arm reaching out in that direction but cut off just above her elbow by the edge of the marble. Her face is in profile but is missing both her nose and most of her mouth, while her chin, a small ear, and a high cheekbone are visible. Her hair is in tight waves, done up in a bun with a headband. Two loose, short tendrils of hair hang down to the nape of her neck. She is wearing a long, draped, swirling skirt. Over that she is also wearing a V-neck tunic which is cinched tightly under her bust by a cord that falls from a large knot between her breasts into two tasseled ties. She appears to have a long scarf flowing from behind her around her left arm and her mostly missing left hand. The lower part of the slab is missing so her feet are not visible. Overall the whole sculpture is pitted with tiny holes.
Courtyard
Commentary
This life-size sculpture, set above the Courtyard fountain, belongs to a series of eight maenad reliefs that once formed the decoration around the circular base of an unknown monument (the other seven maenads are now in the Museo Nazionale Romano). The theme of the dancing maenads suggests that these reliefs belonged to a monument dedicated to the cult of Dionysus—god of wine, agriculture, and revelry. Maenads were female followers of Dionysus, known for dancing and drinking themselves into ecstatic frenzies.