RON BROWNSON ESTATE AUCTION 3
Tuesday, 11 - Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Unknown maker 'Listening Dionysus',
Looking for an opening bid of $10 (0 bids)
This lot closes in 6 days 22 hrs 18 Nov 7:24 pm (NZST)
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Lot Details
Cat. Note/Ref.: This figure is based on the Graeco-Roman 'Listening Dionysus' figure was excavated in Pompeii in 1862 (House VII 12,17.21, upper floor, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli 5003) but this example is not a cast. There are significant differences between it and the prototype: the head is more dramatically modelled and bowed; the musculature of the torso more defined and the thighs thicker; the feet are bare in contrast to the original's complex footwear (dress parade boots); and the base is squared rather than the circular of the original. In a discussion with the cataloguer RDB suggested there was a connection between this figure and the twenty two plaster casts gifted by Thomas Russell to the Auckland Institute and Museum in 1878. However contemporaneous reports indicate that the Dionysus did not form part of the gift. The modelling of this figure suggests it was most probably produced as an academic exercise in the early twentieth century. Title: 'Listening Dionysus' Medium: plaster Dimensions: H.62.5cm
