ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art
Couch Attachment in the Form of a Mule's Head
AAT Object Form/Functionappliqué (metalwork ornament)
AAT Object Form/Functionheads (representations)
AAT Object Form/Functionfurniture ornaments
CultureRoman
PeriodRepublican
Date1st Century BCE
MediumBronze
Credit LineCarlos Collection of Ancient Art
Dimensions5 x 7 x 2 5/8 in. (12.7 x 17.8 x 6.7 cm)
Object number2003.011.003
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 ribbon decorated with silver and copper inlay 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 that are also inlaid in silver and copper. The eyes are 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 viewCollections
- Greek and Roman Art
1st Century BCE
1st Century BCE
mid 14th Century BCE
664-525 BCE
mid 7th Century BCE
mid 7th Century BCE
3rd-2nd Century BCE
4th Century BCE
late 2nd Century BCE
second half 1st Century BCE
1400-1390 BCE
15th Century
