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The sculpture is a detailed relief featuring the profile of an elderly man with a prominent beard and hair, distinctively pointed ears. The man is shirtless and draped in textured cloth. His right hand is raised, with his index and middle fingers extended, while his left hand appears to be grasping a flask or a small vase. Beside him is a staff with a decorative element at the top. The sculpture is made from dark bronze material, giving it an antique appearance, with subtle highlights on the raised portions accentuating the details of his musculature and facial features. The piece is oval and slightly curved inward, with a small hole at the top.
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The sculpture is a detailed relief featuring the profile of an elderly man with a prominent beard and hair, distinctively pointed ears. The man is shirtless and draped in textured cloth. His right hand is raised, with his index and middle fingers extended, while his left hand appears to be grasping a flask or a small vase. Beside him is a staff with a decorative element at the top. The sculpture is made from dark bronze material, giving it an antique appearance, with subtle highlights on the raised portions accentuating the details of his musculature and facial features. The piece is oval and slightly curved inward, with a small hole at the top.

National Gallery of Art · Sculpture

A Satyr

Master of the Martelli Mirror

Date
late 15th or early 16th century
Medium
bronze//Dark brown patina over light bronze
Dimensions
overall (oval): 10.74 x 8.12 cm (4 1/4 x 3 3/16 in.) gross weight: 135.64 gr (0.299 lb.)
Classification
Sculpture · Plaquette
Accession number
1957.14.128
Credit line
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Time span
1401 to 1500
Department
CSD
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • classical
  • mythology
  • Satyr
  • Renaissance
  • Renaissance Plaquettes
  • Mantuan
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.

Marks

Reverse formerly bore previous inventory number 4 in yellow paint (Ricci 1931); numeral removed in 1982 cleaning.

NGA object ID 43848. 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.