Protome of Dionysos

4th century BCE · Sculpture

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “Protome of Dionysos” now? Collection: Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.

Harvard Art Museums

Cambridge, United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 11 days ago
In this state since: Sep 27, 2026
Source: The museum

On the map Museum page

About the sculpture

This bearded male face is a depiction of the god Dionysos. This object type is often called a “protome”: a depiction of a head, bust, or forepart of a human (or divinity) or animal. The specific type here is also sometimes referred to as a “mask; however, it is not a wearable mask. Protomes like this may have been dedicated at sanctuaries, suspended by means of the holes in the lower part of the polos,[1] or placed in burials.[2] They may, also, have been displayed in domestic contexts. Other protomes of Dionysos often take the form of a bust of Dionysos in a chthonic mode: he holds an egg and a rooster or kantharos.[3]

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[1] While these need not be understood literally (as representing “actual” scenes of worship), depictions on painted vases sometimes show masks of Dionysos mounted on walls or pillars/columns, such as on some of the so-called “Lenaia Vases” (e.g., Metropolitan Museum of Art 75.2.21) or a late fifth-century red-figure chous found in Peiraios Street, Athens, attributed to the Etretria Painter (Athens, Ephorate 3500 = Beazley Archive Pottery Database 28128), on which a mask is depicted in profile, hanging on a pillar.

[2] For example, terracotta protomes (masks and busts) of Dionysos were excavated at the necropolis of Halai in Lokris. There, female protomes were found placed against the exterior of sarcophagi. (Goldman, H., and F. Jones. 1942. "Terracottas from the Necropolis of Halae." Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens 11 (4):365-421: p. 369. Walker, A.L., and H. Goldman. 1915. "Report on Excavations at Halae of Locris." American Journal of Archaeology 19 (4):418-37. P. 429, fig. 5.)

[3] E.g., British Museum 1875,0309.21 https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1875-0309-21 and 1874,0305.71 https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1874-0305-71 ).

Harvard Art Museums