CYLINDRICAL RELIEF WITH DANCERS, C. 50 BCE. BATHS OF DIOCLETIAN This large (168 cm in diameter) marble cylinder was discovered in 1908 in an excavation along the via Prenestina which was first a necropolis and then, not long after this work was made, incorporated into the grounds of the villa of Maecenas. It's formed of seven curved marble panels, missing an eighth. Each panel is decorated with a dancing maiden in relief, some facing left, others right, with their feet in motion. They are all wearing a long peplos with a belt directly beneath the breasts, clinging to their upper bodies and floating free below. They also wear a cloak or himation, which they sometimes wrap around their bodies and sometimes hold over their heads, letting it billow out in a velificatio. A wide band above their heads has a vine relief on it, permitting us to give this work a Dionysiac interpretation, but we really don't know if it was part of a tomb or perhaps was the base of a tripod or another object dedicated to Dionysus.

#ReliefWednesday takes us back to an exhibition about the #Roman idea of #time, held in the usually-closed Aula IV of the #BathsofDiocletian in #Rome. These dancers moving around a cylindrical #marble monument may imply the circular passage of the seasons, in a #Bacchic context. #AncientBluesky 🏺

Bacchic imagery had a long history in Greek and Roman art, and this example, on a magnificent silver vessel measuring 60.5 cm in diameter and weighing 8,256 g, is one of the finest to survive from the late-Roman period. The decoration worked in low relief and engraved line on the front surface of the silver, alludes to the worship and mythology of Bacchus on land and in the sea. The staring face in the centre represents Oceanus, his beard formed of seaweed fronds and dolphins in his hair. The inner circle, bordered by scallop shells, consists of sea-nymphs riding mythological marine creatures, a sea-horse, a triton, a sea-stag and a ketos, a dragon-like sea-monster. The wide outer frieze features Bacchus himself, holding a bunch of grapes and a thyrsus (a staff tipped with a pine-cone) and resting a foot on his panther, presiding over a celebration of music, dancing and drinking in his honour. The participants include the hero Hercules, overcome by wine, the goat-legged god Pan, and sundry satyrs and Maenads (female devotees).

The most famous object in the Mildenhall treasure is the large highly decorated circular platter usually known as the Great Dish, or as the Neptune or Oceanus Dish. It dates back to the 4th century AD, during the Late Roman period. #BritishMuseum #MildenhallTreasure #Roman #Silverware #Bacchic