Satyr Seated on a Tree Stump with Inkwell and Candleholder

Culture: Italian
Date: c.1530
Material: Bronze with high copper content, chocolate bronze natural patina with traces of black-brown paint or varnish
made in: Padua, Veneto region, Italy, Europe
Classification: Sculpture, tools & equipment
Collection: European Art to 1800
Current Location: On View, Gallery 236E
Dimensions: 7 1/8 × 5 × 5 in. (18.1 × 12.7 × 12.7 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mark Steinberg Weil and Phoebe Dent Weil
Rights: Public Domain
Object Number: 257:2021

NOTES

This satyr, part man and part goat, is probably drunk, based on the large vessel at his side. The sculpture was made for a scholar’s desk, serving a useful purpose as an ink well and as a warning of the dangers of yielding to unchecked impulses. The satyr reminded 16th-century viewers to control their animal natures through the exercise of their intellect.

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