BRONZE MASK OF DIONYSUS (?), C. 100 BCE. DELOS, ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
This unusual bronze and copper mask was found in a well on the Cycladic island of Delos, the holy island where Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis, near the Agora of the Compitaliasts laid out in about 125 BCE in the heart of the Delian emporion. Only 25 cm high, the lower two thirds of the mask is made up of a voluminous curly beard. Above it is a man's face with a discontented expression, somewhat squeezed visually between the beard and a forehead ribbon decorated with vine leaves, holding back a dense mass of curly hair. He also has two little horns, indicating his divinity. This mask probably decorated the handle of a bronze vase. The Agora near which this was found was a centre for Italian cults, and was built shortly after the Roman conquest of Greece. The vase might have belonged to any number of syncretic cults, perhaps that of Osiris-Dionysus. But as an artwork in its own right, it's magnificent.
#ReliefWednesday takes us to #Greece, specifically #Delos, via a 2023 exhibition at the #BathsofDiocletian in #Rome to marvel at the #bronze mask of a divinity who seems to be mostly #beard. Never has #ancient art so reminded me of a Dwarven king out of #Tolkien. #AncientBluesky 🏺