The Dancing Satyr or Faun from Pompeii
- Title:
- The Dancing Satyr or Faun from Pompeii
- Collection:
- Cornell Cast Collection
- Creator:
- Unknown
- Photographer:
- Mericle, Danielle
- Date:
- ca. 1890-1900
ca. 300-100 BCE
- Site:
- Pompeii, Italy (discovery site, 1830
possibly made at Alexandria) (original) - Location:
- Goldwin Smith Hall ?
Pompeii, Italy (discovery site, 1830
possibly made at Alexandria) (original) - ID Number:
- CCC_0789
- Accession Number:
- Sage no. 368
731 - File Name:
- CCC_0789.tif
- Original Measurements:
- 71 (H) cm
- Culture:
- Roman or Greek
- Style/Period:
- Roman Republican or Hellenistic (?)
- Work Type:
- casts (sculpture)
- Materials/Techniques:
- plaster cast (sculpture) with possible electroplate finish
bronze sculpture in the round (original) - Subject:
- Satyrs (Greek mythology)
Fauns (Roman mythology)
House of the Faun (Pompeii) - Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 82.5 x 27.5 x 33 (centimeters, height x width x diameter)
- Description:
- This is a cast of the famous bronze statuette of a dancing faun or satyr from the Tuscan impluvium of the House of the Faun at Pompeii (Pompeii VI.12.2), for which the house is named. The lean, muscular creature is depicted in ecstatic dance. He is on the balls of his feet with his bent right leg advanced and his straightened left leg back. His left arm is raised high so that his rib cage juts out, and his right arm is raised at the elbow. He lifts his head and looks up with a joyful expression. The unruly waves and curls of his hair and beard surround his face, and two curved horns project up from his forehead. He wears a vegetal wreath. The style and workmanship of the faun have suggested Alexandrian manufacture between 300-100 BCE, or perhaps a copy of such a work. This cast has been finished to look like the patinated bronze of the original, perhaps by the method of electroplating.
- Notes:
- Items in the Cornell Cast Collection are meant for inventory and reference purposes. Metadata may not be complete in all cases.
no. 5002 - Bibliography:
- Francis Haskell and Nicholas Penny, Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981), 208-209
- Repository:
- Cornell University (current)
Naples, National Archaeological Museum (original) - Collecting Program:
- Cornell Collections of Antiquities
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- The images in the Cornell Collection of Antiquities: Casts are protected by copyright, and the copyright holders are their creators, generally Cornell University Library, Annetta Alexandridis, and Verity Platt. This collection of plaster casts owned by Cornell University was photographed by Cornell University Library, Alexandridis, Platt, and Andreya L. Mihaloew from 2010-2015, with funding from a Digital Collections in Arts and Sciences Grant to Annetta Alexandridis. Cornell is providing access to the materials for research and personal use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Please contact Annetta Alexandridis and Verity Platt for more information about this collection, or to request permission to use these images.