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Source Description
The shoulders of this massive ring are engraved with a torch and a trident, and terminate in the jaws of large snake heads. The carnelian depicts a reclining male figure leaning on a staff. Wreaths on his head and in his right hand identify him as the wine-god Dionysus. Before him stands what may be another torch or a horn of plenty, both of which, like snakes, were symbols of Dionysus: snakes represented wild animals over which the god presided, while torches may allude to the "Lampteria," the "Festival of Torches" celebrated in Dionysus's cult.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
10570
label
Ring with an Intaglio of Dionysus
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
10570
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Ring with an Intaglio of Dionysus
description
The shoulders of this massive ring are engraved with a torch and a trident, and terminate in the jaws of large snake heads. The carnelian depicts a reclining male figure leaning on a staff. Wreaths on his head and in his right hand identify him as the wine-god Dionysus. Before him stands what may be another torch or a horn of plenty, both of which, like snakes, were symbols of Dionysus: snakes represented wild animals over which the god presided, while torches may allude to the "Lampteria," the "Festival of Torches" celebrated in Dionysus's cult.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1926, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
3rd century CE
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
finger rings
intaglios
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
H: 1 in. (2.6 cm)
Source extras
med
gold, carnelian
creator_ids
6191
collection_ids
ROM
JWL
exhibition_ids
358
2227
2513
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
fc74b5d5f236f866