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© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Michael McKelvey.
Furniture Support in the Shape of a Hanging Marsyas
© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Michael McKelvey.
© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Michael McKelvey.
© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Michael McKelvey.
ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art

Furniture Support in the Shape of a Hanging Marsyas

AAT Object Form/FunctionSupports (furniture Components)
Place CreatedGreece, Europe
CultureRoman
PeriodImperial
Date1st Century CE
MediumMarble (giallo antico)
Credit LineCarlos Collection of Ancient Art
Dimensions15 3/8 x 6 3/8 in. (39.1 x 16.2 cm)
Object number1990.004.002
Label TextThis fragmentary furniture support depicts the satyr Marsyas. He is shown nude and heavily muscled with his arms raised above his head, revealing fine curls of armpit hair. His head is turned slightly to the right and hangs forward onto his chest. He has thick hair, which stands upright above his prominent, furrowed brow, a full beard, and a long moustache framing parted lips.

According to myth, Marsyas was the first to master the double aulos, a wind instrument invented but rejected by the goddess, Athena, because playing it distorted her face. Over-confident in his new skill, he dared to challenge Apollo, the lyre-playing god of music, to a competition. Apollo won and punished Marsyas for his hubris (arrogance before the gods) by tying him to a tree and having him flayed alive. For Romans, the story became a warning against the consequences of excessive pride. Despite its gruesome subject, it was also a popular subject in Roman decorative art: this sculpture likely supported a tabletop.
Exhibition HistoryAn Enduring Ideal: Classical Art from the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University, Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, November 1, 1992 - February 15, 1993
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, May 11, 1993 - May 2004
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2004 - January 2011
Monsters, Demons & Winged Beasts: Composite Creatures in the Ancient World, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 5 - June 19, 2011
The Mediterranean Melting Pot: Commerce and Cultural Exchange in Antiquity, Museum of Art & Archaeology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, September 9 - December 18, 2011
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, September 2012 - August 27, 2013
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, September 25, 2013 - September 30, 2014
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, March 10, 2015 - November 3, 2016
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, January 10, 2017-Present
Published ReferencesAnne Weis, The Hanging Marsyas and Its Copies: Roman Innovations in Hellenistic Sculptural Tradition (Roma: G. Bretschneider, 1992), 124 and 197.
Michael C. Carlos Museum Handbook (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 1996), 70.
Jasper Gaunt, "New Galleries of Greek & Roman Art at Emory University: The Michael C. Carlos Museum," Minerva 16 (2005): 13-17.
ProvenancePurchased by Emory University Museum of Art and Archaeology from Brian T. Aitken (1952-2009) [Acanthus Gallery], New York, New York.
Status
On view
Collections
  • Greek and Roman Art