Pair Of Gilt Bronze Vases With Bacchanalia Decor

Pair of lidded vases in gilded bronze and cherry red marble decorated with Bacchanalia.

The vases are decorated with figures after Clodion which illustrate the life of Bacchus.
They are of superior quality and finely crafted.

Bacchus is a Roman god corresponding to Dionysus in Greek mythology. He is the son of Jupiter and Semele, daughter of the king of Thebes. Semele was a young mortal princess, loved by Jupiter. The latter, deceiving Juno, gave him a child, Bacchus. In revenge, Juno incites Semele to ask Jupiter (who has promised to fulfill the mother-to-be's wish) to show himself in his divine glory. Semele asks him. Jupiter cannot relent and does so, but by appearing in his form as the god of lightning, he kills her. However, he collects the fetus and places it in his thigh, hiding it for a time from Juno's vengeance.

Juno does not disarm: once Bacchus is born, she delegates the Titans to put an end to him. They cut it into pieces and boil it in a cauldron. But Mercury transforms the child into a kid and entrusts him to the nymphs of Nysa. A vine hides their cave and the young god feeds on it.

Bacchus became the god of the Vine, Wine and Festivities, but also of Dance, Vegetation, the Pleasures of life and its excesses. The processions of Bacchus were very numerous. Not counting Silenus and the Bacchantes, we noticed nymphs, satyrs, shepherds, shepherdesses, and even the god Pan. All carried the thyrsus entwined with foliage, vine stocks, wreaths of ivy, cups and bunches of grapes. Bacchus leads the way, and the whole procession follows him, shouting and making loud musical instruments sound.

It is symbolized by the magpie, because wine loosens tongues, and makes drinkers indiscreet; the goat and the hare, because they eat the buds of the vine. Bacchus is usually represented with horns, symbols of strength and power, crowned with vine, ivy or fig tree, in the guise of a laughing and cheerful young man.