Jug handle with the head of Bacchus. Rome, 1st-2nd... Lot 37

Jug handle with the head of Bacchus. Rome, 1st-2nd century AD. Bronze. Measurements: 4.5 x 8.5 x 16.5 cm. Bacchus, the Greek Dionysus, was the god most often represented in the decoration of Roman utensils, especially on jugs for pouring wine. Here he is depicted as a bearded adult. On other occasions, it was common to depict him as a laughing child to allude to his rebirth, or as an androgynous youth. The head of the god of wine is expressive and is executed with attention to detail, adorning the end of the handle. The Romans brought two important innovations to the world of sculpture: the portrait and the historical relief, neither of which existed in the Greek world. However, they followed Greek models for much of their sculptural production, a basis which in Rome was combined with the Etruscan tradition. After the first contacts with Classical Greece through the Magna Graecia colonies, the Romans conquered Syracuse in 212 BC, a rich and important Greek colony in Sicily, which was adorned with a large number of Hellenistic works. The city was sacked and its artistic treasures taken to Rome, where the new style of these works soon replaced the Etruscan-Roman tradition that had prevailed until then. Shortly afterwards, in 133 BC, the Empire inherited the kingdom of Pergamon, where there was an original and thriving school of Hellenistic sculpture.