CAG.0922 Bust of Dionysus, c.1816, plaster cast after 2^nd century marble original, 75 x 44 x 40 cm. Transferred, Royal Cork Institution, c.1849.

This WORK OF THE WEEK was once caught in a case of mistaken identity!

Bust of Dionysus is one of the earliest works to enter the Collection and forms part of a set of objects known as the Canova Casts. These plaster casts of Antique sculptures had been commissioned by Pope Pius VII as a gift to the Prince Regent and were created in Rome under the supervision of Antonio Canova (1757-1822).

For many years, however, this work was labelled Bust of a Female, perhaps understandable given its androgynous appearance. Research in recent years has revealed that it is, in fact, a partial cast of a full-length figure at the Musée du Louvre.

Dionysus is a second-century Roman marble sculpture and is itself a likely copy of a Hellenistic original. Our cast may have been taken from a mould made in October 1815 as Canova busily organised the repatriation of antiquities to Rome following the fall of Napoleon.

The youngest of the Olympian gods, Dionysus was the son of Zeus and the mortal Semele. He is identified through his youthful appearance and vine leaves in his hair. This alludes to his role as god of wine and the grape-harvest, although he is also associated with fertility, theatre, and religious ecstasy.

Festivals known as Dionysia were held in his honour, with rural versions taking place around the winter solstice and urban ones at the spring equinox. Bacchanalia, equivalent festivities in the Roman tradition, were held in the name of Bacchus.

Bust of Dionysus is featured in RECASTING CANOVA (Sculpture Galleries).

The Arts House: Conor Tallon chats with curator Michael Waldron about a work from the Collection every Sunday morning on Cork’s 96FM and C103 Cork. 

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