Relief of three dancing nymphs
Relief of three dancing nymphs
Date1st century CE
Mediummarble
Dimensionsobject: 28 3/4 × 35 1/2 × 3 in. (73 × 90.2 × 7.6 cm)
ClassificationSCULPTURE
Credit LineSBMA, Gift of Frank Perls
Object number1952.27
Subject(s)
- dance
- mythology
- women
Collection
- Antiquity
Sub-Collection(s)
- Roman
On View
Not on viewCollections
Label TextThe scene of three nymphs dancing in a row, with its fugue-like variations in form and movement, is known from a series of ancient replicas and variants. It probably refers back to a fourth-century BCE Greek original which predated this object by several centuries. The original may have been a scene in which the nymphs were shown celebrating the arrival of the newborn Dionysos (the god, born from Zeus's thigh, was raised by a nymph named Ino).
Egyptian
19th Dynasty, reign of Ramses II (1279-1213 BCE)