The Dancing Satyr of Mazara del Vallo, Sicily 323
The Dancing Satyr is an extraordinary work of art.
It's presence in the city of Mazara, after the restoration works, has enriched the Sicilian cultural heritage. The bronze statue is dated back to the IV century B.C., the Hellenistic period. It represents a dancing Satyr, a mythological figure.
The dynamism of his Dionysian dance characterizes the work. It’s been a typical feature of the Greek sculptures since the IV century. However, the main characteristic of this masterpiece is its magnificent head with flying hair. It’s unnaturally arched by the whirling dance that also upsets the most elementary natural rules. So, it was certainly carved by a master.
The Satyr was recovered on March 1998 by the fishing-boat Capitan Ciccio, belonging to the ship owners Asaro and Scilla and commanded by the captain Francesco Adragna. It was found at a depth of 500 m (1600 ft.) under the level of the sea, between Pantelleria and the African coast.
Though still missing both arms and his right leg, the statue is an incredible find. It's head and torso are in amazingly good condition,despite millennia spent at the bottom of the sea. Now, the Satyr has been restored, but the Central Institute of Art Restoration, in Rome, made use of several specialists’ help to clean the sculpture and fit it with a steel armature to strengthen it.
The statue most probably belonged to a collection of sculptures, Satyrs and Bacchantes. Whirling and orgiastic dances kept them occupied. On July 2003 the Satyr returned to Mazara del Vallo, where it is on permanent display in the Satyr's Museum in the complex of Sant'Egidio. The bronze isn’t only the attestation of the importance of the Mediterranean area during the centuries, but also it helps us live the history of the Sicilian Canal and the relations between Sicilia and North Africa over again. This is possible thanks to a selection of archeological objects recovered in the same sea. The Satyr's Museum houses them. For example, a bronze fragment of elephant’s leg belonging to the Punic-Hellenistic age, a mediaeval bronze cauldron, a selection of freight amphora belonging to archaic, classical, Hellenistic, Punic and mediaeval period are some of the finds situated in the museum.
However, the discovery of the dancing sculpture has been of primary importance in the archeological research progress.
The Dancing Satyr of Mazara del Vallo, Sicily 323
The Dancing Satyr is an extraordinary work of art.
It's presence in the city of Mazara, after the restoration works, has enriched the Sicilian cultural heritage. The bronze statue is dated back to the IV century B.C., the Hellenistic period. It represents a dancing Satyr, a mythological figure.
The dynamism of his Dionysian dance characterizes the work. It’s been a typical feature of the Greek sculptures since the IV century. However, the main characteristic of this masterpiece is its magnificent head with flying hair. It’s unnaturally arched by the whirling dance that also upsets the most elementary natural rules. So, it was certainly carved by a master.
The Satyr was recovered on March 1998 by the fishing-boat Capitan Ciccio, belonging to the ship owners Asaro and Scilla and commanded by the captain Francesco Adragna. It was found at a depth of 500 m (1600 ft.) under the level of the sea, between Pantelleria and the African coast.
Though still missing both arms and his right leg, the statue is an incredible find. It's head and torso are in amazingly good condition,despite millennia spent at the bottom of the sea. Now, the Satyr has been restored, but the Central Institute of Art Restoration, in Rome, made use of several specialists’ help to clean the sculpture and fit it with a steel armature to strengthen it.
The statue most probably belonged to a collection of sculptures, Satyrs and Bacchantes. Whirling and orgiastic dances kept them occupied. On July 2003 the Satyr returned to Mazara del Vallo, where it is on permanent display in the Satyr's Museum in the complex of Sant'Egidio. The bronze isn’t only the attestation of the importance of the Mediterranean area during the centuries, but also it helps us live the history of the Sicilian Canal and the relations between Sicilia and North Africa over again. This is possible thanks to a selection of archeological objects recovered in the same sea. The Satyr's Museum houses them. For example, a bronze fragment of elephant’s leg belonging to the Punic-Hellenistic age, a mediaeval bronze cauldron, a selection of freight amphora belonging to archaic, classical, Hellenistic, Punic and mediaeval period are some of the finds situated in the museum.
However, the discovery of the dancing sculpture has been of primary importance in the archeological research progress.