Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Oil Lamp in the Shape of Silenus Straddling a Wine-Skin
(Renaissance Europe )
This oil lamp is in the shape of Silenus, the Greco-Roman god of drunkeness and tutor to thewine god Bacchus, sitting on an inflated oxhide that is serving as a large wine skin. He reaches back and holds the ox's tail thus creating a handle for the lamp. The child Bacchus holds up a bunch of grapes to him. This is the sort of humorous interpretation of an ancient myth that was very popular in the circle of classical scholars in the the university city of Padua in the early 1500s. The subject and the execution, although rough, are generally characteristic of Riccio, but the specific attribution of hte piece to the master has not been pursued. See 54.234 for a statuette that is universally accepted as one of Riccio's masterpieces.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 1963-1965 | The Mannerists. Fort Wayne Art Museum, Indiana, Fort Wayne; Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 11/1/1958 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 1/9/1967 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 8/24/1977 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 8/24/1977 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 4/1/1989 | Examination | examined for survey |
Geographies
Italy, Padua (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 3 11/16 × W: 6 1/4 × D: 2 13/16 in. (9.3 × 15.9 × 7.2 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Hackerman House at 1 West Mount Vernon Place: First Floor: Library
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
54.37