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The image shows a round bronze sculpture with intricate designs. Two figures face each other in profile, engaged in an interaction. On the left, an older man gestures with a raised finger, while the opposite figure, a younger person, holds a crown or vessel. The background features vegetation-themed details in high relief. Below the central figures is a smaller bust of a figure in elaborate clothing. The sculpture is circular, made of bronze with a smooth, polished surface.
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The image shows a round bronze sculpture with intricate designs. Two figures face each other in profile, engaged in an interaction. On the left, an older man gestures with a raised finger, while the opposite figure, a younger person, holds a crown or vessel. The background features vegetation-themed details in high relief. Below the central figures is a smaller bust of a figure in elaborate clothing. The sculpture is circular, made of bronze with a smooth, polished surface.

National Gallery of Art · Sculpture

A Satyr and a Bacchante (Allegory of Reproduction)

Liard Family workshop, Paris, after the Master of the Martelli Mirror

Date
fourth quarter 19th century
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
height (with suspension loop): 17.15 cm (6 3/4 in.) overall (diameter without suspension loop): 17 cm (6 11/16 in.) gross weight: 341.63 gr (0.753 lb.)
Classification
Sculpture · Plaquette
Accession number
1957.14.127
Credit line
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Time span
1851 to 1875
Department
CSD
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • classical
  • mythology
  • Satyr
  • Renaissance Plaquettes
  • Mantuan
  • Bacchante
Provenance

Gustave Dreyfus [1837-1914], Paris; his estate; purchased 1930 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York); purchased 1945 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1957 to NGA.

Inscription

in exergue tablet: NATVRA FOVET / QVAE / NECESSITAS VRGET (Nature encourages what necessity demands)

Marks

Reverse bears former inventory number 18 in red paint (Dreyfus), as well as earlier-style NGA accession number in red paint.

NGA object ID 43847. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.