Statue of Bacchus
Artist
Unknown
Date1st–3rd century (torso and head), with postantique restorations
MediumMarble
Dimensions96 5/8 x 30 x 28 1/2 in. (245.4 x 76.2 x 72.4 cm)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. John D. Humber
Object numberGL.58.2.1-3
On View
On view[1] The Statue of Bacchus was restored multiple times and the current iteration of the sculpture is published in Clarac, Frédéric Comte de. Musée de sculpture antique et moderne. Planches Quatrième. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1836–1837. See 104, fig. 1586. The exact restoration date is unknown but predates 1836. For discussion, see Fernando Loffredo, “Some Questions about the History of Restoration: Bacchus in Context,” in The Bacchus Conservation Project: The Story of a Sculpture, Caroline M. Rocheleau, ed. (Raleigh, North Carolina Museum of Art, 2020), 24–29.
[2] Morgan purchased the statue from Canessa in April 1911 (see copy of sales invoice from Morgan Library Archives, NCMA Curatorial file GL.58.2.1–3). The statue was in the Morgan collection until May 18, 1945 (see the copy of index card of the third auction held on this date, NCMA Curatorial file GL.58.2.1-3).
Published ReferencesFrédéric Comte de Clarac, Musée de sculpture antique et moderne (Planches Quatrième. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1836–1837), 104, fig. 1586.
Frédéric Comte de Clarac, Musée de sculpture antique et moderne,Tome Quatrième, ed. A. Maury (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1850), 194, fig. 1586a.
Wolfgang Helbig, “Nochmals züm Amalthearelief,” Archäologische Zeitung 22 (April–June 1864), 168.
Friedrich Matz, Antike Bildwerke in Rom mit Ausschluss der grösseren Sammlungen. I. Statuen, Hermen, Büsten, Köpfe. Fortgeführt und hrsg. von F. v. Duhn (Leipizig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1881), 95, note 362.
Salomon Reinach, Répertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine (Paris: E. Leroux. I, 1906), 386, illus. fig. 1.
Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc. Classical and Medieval Stone Sculptures. Part III [Final] of the Joseph Brummer Collection. Public Auction Sale at the Brummer Gallery, York, June 8 and 9, 1949 (New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1949), 124, illus. fig. 528.
May Davis Hill, “A Checklist of Additional Sculptures in the North Carolina Museum of Art,” North Carolina Museum of Art Bulletin 2.1 (1958), listed 31, illus. (b-w) 30.
May Davis Hill, “Registrar’s Report of New Acquisitions July 16, 1967, to March 4, 1958,” North Carolina Museum of Art Bulletin 1/4-5 (Winter 1957–Spring 1958), 53.
Ernst Langlotz, “Eine neue Replik des triumphierenden Perseus,” Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung 70 (1963), 20–22, illus. pl. 10,
Claude Rolley, “Sculptures nouvelles à l’Agora de Thasos,” Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 88 no. 2 (1964), 496–524, see 509, 11.1.
W. Fuchs, “Zum Antinoos Hope und zum Cacciatore im Kapitolinischen Museum,” Archäolo¬gischer Anzeiger 1 no. 1 (1966), 76. See note 4.
Andreas Linfert, “Noch ein triumphierender Perseus,” Archäologischer Anzeiger 3.4 (1968), 424–427, 425, note 4.
Angelos Delivorrias, “Zum motiv des triumphierenden Perseus,” Antike Kunst 12 (1969), 22–24.
Erwin Pochmarski, Das Bild des Dionysos in der Rundplastik der klassischen Zeit Griechenlands (Vienna: Verband der wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaften Österreichs, 1974), 123, note 29A.
C. Vorster, “Dionysos/Bacchus,” In Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae III (Zurich: Artemis & Winkler Verlag, 1986), 544, note 22; illus. pl. 429.
Geoffrey B. Waywell, The Lever and Hope Sculptures: Ancient Sculptures in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight and A Catalogue of the Ancient Sculptures Formerly in the Hope Collection, London and Deepdene (Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 1986), 21, note 5.
G Messineo, “La collezione delle sculture antiche,” In Palazzo Altemps: Indagini per il restauro della fabbrica. Riario, Soderini, Altemps, ed. Francesco Scoppola (Rome: De Luca, 1987), 180–181, note 28, fig. 287.
Norman Herz, “Authenticating Antique Marbles,” The Journal of Art 4 (March 1991), 62.
Hugo Meyer, Antinoos. Die archäologischen Denkmäler unter Einbeziehung des numismatischen und epigraphischen Materials sowie der literarischen Nachrichten. Ein Beitrag zur Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte der hadrianissch-frühantoninischen Zeit (Munich: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 1991), 67, note 264.
L. J. Roccos, “Perseus,” In Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae Vol. VII (Zurich: Artemis & Winkler Verlag, 1992), 336, note 64e; illus. plate 283.
Eleanor H Gustafson, “Museum accessions,” Antiques (April 2004), 30.
Carlo, Gasparri ed. Le sculture Farnese III. Le sculture delle Terme di Caracalla. Rilievei e varia (Milan: Electa, 2009), 187, note 26.
Caroline M. Rocheleau, “Research Report: Patchwork Bacchus Hid Rare Ancient Torso,” North Carolina Museum of Art Preview (Fall 2014), 24–25.
David Menconi, “Someone built this statue out of spare parts 400 years ago. Now the NC Museum of Art can finally take it apart,” News & Observer, January 25, 2018.
Eugenio La Rocca and Claudio Parisi Presicce, eds., Musei Capiolini. Le sculture del Palazzo Nuovo. Vol. 2 (Rome: Campisano, 2019), 580, note 7
Kasey Murphy, “NC State basketball player lends more than a hand to the NC Museum of Art,” News & Observer, February 8, 2019.
Caroline M. Rocheleau, ed., The Bacchus Conservation Project: The Story of a Sculpture (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 2020).
Mark Abbe, “Provenances, Historic Restorations and the ‘Perseus riumphant’ Statue Type: An Overlooked Group of Heroic Hunter Portrait Statues from Imperian Rome,” in Selected Papers on Ancient Art and Architecture (Boston, Archaeological Institute of America, forthcoming).
Caroline M. Rocheleau and Corey Smith Riley, "Unusual Replica: Giving Bacchus a New Arm," Cahiers de Mariemont 43: Réplique et Patrimoine (2021), 121-125.
Victoria Scott-Miller, The Museum Lives in Me (Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Museum of Art, 2022), illus 23 (artist's illustration).Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The Bacchus Conservation Project: The Story of a Sculpture," March 7, 2020–August 29, 2021.
Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement
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