The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 16, 2024

Fragment with Satyr and Maenad

Fragment with Satyr and Maenad

300s CE
undyed linen and dyed wool; plain weave ground with tapestry weave
Overall: 139 x 86.4 cm (54 3/4 x 34 in.); Mounted: 153.6 x 100.4 x 3.9 cm (60 1/2 x 39 1/2 x 1 9/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1975.6
Location: 003 Special Exhibition Hall

Description

This textile fragment depicts followers of Dionysus, the ancient Greco-Roman god of wine and merriment. A maenad, or female follower, prances in front of columns and archways, nude except for her opulent gold jewelry and pink veil. She gazes at the man, who wears a hair wreath and spotted leopard skin. A Greek inscription beside his halo confirms his identity as a satyr (a male follower). The weaver skillfully blended colors and fibers to produce the illusion of shadows and movement in the two bodies. Though Christianity was the official religion, many pagan motifs endured as creative references.
  • (Nicolas Koutoulakis, Conches-Geneva, Switzerland).
  • Thomas, Thelma K., Jennifer Ball, Edward Bleiberg, Kathrin Colburn, Helen C. Evans, Christine Kondoleon, Brandie Ratliff, and Elizabeth Dospel Williams. Designing Identity: The Power of Textiles in Late Antiquity. 2016. 26
    Susan MacMillan Arensberg. "Dionysos: A Late Antique Tapestry." Boston Museum Bulletin 75 (1977): p. 4-25 4171613.
    Shepherd, Dorothy G. "A Late Classical Tapestry." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 63, no. 10 (1976): p. 307-13, fig. 1, 3, 9, cover illus 25152664.
    Weitzmann, Kurt. "The Late Roman World." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 35, no. 2 (1977): 2-96. p. 24, no. 2, color p. 25 undefined
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 36 archive.org
    Weitzmann, Kurt. Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century : Catalogue of the Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, November 19, 1977, Through February 12, 1978. New York: The Metropolitan Museum, 1979. p. 144-46, no. 124, illus p. 145
    Rutschowscaya, Marie-Hélène. Coptic Fabrics. Paris, France: Adam Biro, 1990. p. 87
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 13 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 40-41, no. 3
    Thomas, Thelma K. "Material Meaning in Late Antiquity." In Designing Identity: The Power of Textiles in Late Antiquity. Thelma K. Thomas, ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016. Reproduced: p. 26, fig. 1-1.5
    Achi, Andrea Myers, et al. Africa and Byzantium. New York : The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2023. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 42, no. 3
  • Africa & Byzantium. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (November 14, 2023-March 3, 2024); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (co-organizer) (April 14-July 21, 2024).
    Designing Identity: The Power of Textiles in Late Antiquity. Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University, NY, New York, NY (February 25-May 22, 2016).
    Gallery 106 textile rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 13, 2010-April 1, 2011); (September 14, 2011-March 26, 2012); (March 18-September 23, 2013); (March 17-September 22, 2014); (March 2-September 8, 2015); (May 1-October 30, 2017); (April 30-October 29, 2018); (April 29-August 9, 2019); (January 23, 2020-).
    Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008).
    Gallery 210 textile rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 13-August 8, 2001); (February 4-August 5, 2002); (February 3-August 4, 2003); (February 3-August 11, 2004)
    The Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, 3rd - 7th Century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (November 18, 1977-February 12, 1978).
    Late antique and Early Christian Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (November 18, 1977-February 12, 1978).
  • {{cite web|title=Fragment with Satyr and Maenad|url=false|author=|year=300s CE|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1975.6