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This sculpture can be identified as Antinous from the striated eyebrows, full pouting lips, somber expression, and the head's twist down and to the right (reminiscent of that of the Lemnian Athena), whilst its smooth skin and elaborate, center-parted hair mirror those of Hellenistic images of Dionysus (his Roman equivalent being Bacchus) and Apollo. In reference to Dionysus, the side locks of hair that are seen on either side of this Antinous head can also be found on Dionysus, furthering a connection between the two through hairstyle. The ancient geographer, Pausanias, was the only writer who provided some type of iconographic 'pointers' towards the understanding of Antinous art, and he found that there were similarities in some figures of Antinous, such as the Antinous of Mantineia, and Dionysus.The Mondragone head formed part of a colossal acrolithic cult statue for the worship of Antinous as a god. Acrolithic statues were made using a technique in which artists used a combination of wood and some type of stone to construct their sculptures. In the case of the Antinous Mondragone, marble was the stone of choice. Per the technique, the marble would have only been used where body parts were visible, in places such as the head where the marble would be depicting their flesh. Whereas the wood would have been used to craft the clothed portions of the statue. This technique is said to have been used more often in areas where the cost of fine materials, such as marble, may have been too costly or not readily available.
Thirty-one holes in three different sizes have been drilled for the attachment of a garland of some type (possibly made of ivy or vine leaves) in metal. This head decoration is argued to have been some sort of tainia, a part of costume dress that would be worn around the head by the Greeks during festivals, and could also be shown worn in cult images. The sculpture's eyes have been lost; however, they are thought to have been made in either bronze, ivory, or some type of colored stone.
cult statue Bacchus Pausanias Dionysus Acrolith Hellenistic Mondragone Lemnian Athena marble ivory Antinous acrolith bronze tainia Apollo Mantineia ivy