This satyr is shown with great dynamism. His torso is contorted, his head is thrown back and his lips are parted with an expression of wild ecstasy, as if fighting or dancing.

The woodland-dwelling satyrs had an insatiable love of wine, dance, and women. Incorrigible tricksters yet secretly wise, they were inseparable from the cult of the god Dionysos, whom they served as companions.

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Height: 20 1/2 inches (52.1 cm) or 25 1/2 inches (64.8 cm) on rotating bronze stand

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Provenance:

From the collection of the architect Gerard Moerdyk (1890-1958), South Africa, acquired late 1940s

Subsequently gifted to his granddaughter, Annemarie Christine Friedrich

This piece is visible in the background of a black and white photograph of the previous owner and her sister, taken in 1951.