Greek Terracotta Miniature Crouching Ithyphallic Silenus Statuette

Southern Europe, Greece, Greek. A miniature moulded terracotta statuette of a crouching silenus, the squat body pitched forward on short, splayed legs. The broad head sinks into the shoulders and is framed by a heavy, rounded beard and full, ridged locks. Small round ears flank a snub-nosed, almost leonine face. The paunchy torso and stocky thighs frame his exposed genitals, a frank detail typical of the unruly companions of Dionysos. Traces of pinkish-red pigment survive across the pale clay, so the figure was once brightly painted. Statuettes like this, small enough to cup in one hand, were likely dedicated at sanctuaries, placed in graves, or kept as amulets, where their comic bodies may have been thought to ward off misfortune. Sileni and satyrs were the hybrid followers of Dionysos, part human and part horse or goat. In Greek art they stand for appetite let loose: wine, music, dancing, and sex. Older sileni were usually shown as balding, bearded, and pot-bellied, and the type was linked to Silenos, the drunken but wise tutor of the god. Coroplasts in workshops across the Greek world turned out small moulded figures of these grotesque companions. Their exaggerated bodies were probably as funny to ancient viewers as they are now, and in religious settings that comedy may also have served as protective magic. Item # 205609

Estimate:$300

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