ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art

Couch Attachment in the Form of a Mule's Head

AAT Object Form/Functionsculpture (visual works)

AAT Object Form/Functionappliqué (metalwork ornament)

AAT Object Form/Functionfurniture ornaments

CultureRoman

PeriodRepublican

Date1st Century BCE

MediumBronze

Credit LineCarlos Collection of Ancient Art

Dimensions6 1/4 x 3 x 2 3/4 in. (15.9 x 7.6 x 7 cm)

Object number2003.011.004

Label TextThis bronze appliqué in the form of a mule's head was once attached to the headrest (fulcrum) of a couch used for reclining during a banquet or drinking party. It wears a grape vine in its mane and a saddlecloth made from a panther pelt around its neck, folded back to reveal a lining decorated with meanders and spirals inlaid in silver. The eyes are also inlaid with silver. Mules were associated with Dionysus, god of wine and revelry, and so helped create an atmosphere of conviviality appropriate to the dining space, in effect transforming the individual who reclined on the couch into a participant in a Dionysiac procession (thiasos).
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2004 - September 15, 2014
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 29, 2014 - Present
Published ReferencesSotheby's New York, Antiquities (December 11, 2002), 58-59, lot. 46.
MCCM Newsletter, March - May 2003.
Michael C. Carlos Museum: Highlights of the Collections (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2011), 52.

ProvenanceAquired in Northwest Turkey, prior to 1973. Ex coll. Major Clarence H. Schroeder, Tampa, Florida. Purchased by MCCM from Sotheby's New York, December 11, 2002, lot 46.

Status

On view

Collections