Unknown Maker, Roman

The curve of the fragment’s profile suggest that it came from a marble vase larger at the top than at the bottom, perhaps a container used during banquets for mixing wine with water (krater). Kraters were often appropriately decorated with nymphs and satyrs, followers of Dionysos/Bacchus, the god of wine. The RISD vase shows a satyr moving to the right and holding a staff (*thyrsus(). In earlier times portrayed as more animal than man, the satyr began to be humanized over the centuries in artistic representations. By Roman times, when Dionysiac imagery and symbolism enjoyed great popularity, only the smallest details, such as pointed ears, distinguished satyrs from humans.