Candelabrum Stand of a Dancing Maenad

525–500 BCE

Medium
bronze
Classification
Sculpture
Dimensions
Overall: 18.8 cm (7 3/8 in.)
Culture
Etruscan
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art, Greek and Roman Art
Credit line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Rights
Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Adult profiles and older: its museum's description or title mentions nudity. How works are placed

View at the Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

Conceived primarily in two dimensions—front and rear silhouette—this small bronze dancer probably once belonged to an elaborate candelabra or incense burner. The exaggeratedly long fingers and pointed shoes characterize the work as Etruscan, as do the stylized folds of the figure’s dress, which add visual interest but not verisimilitude. While her right hand holds above her head a cylindrical support, her left squeezes a small object, perhaps a fruit or clapper.