Bust of a drunken Satyr, replica of the Herculaneum type

The Satyr Torlonia, which is configured as a fragment of a statue later transformed into a bust, probably in ancient times enriched the decoration of Roman villas or spa buildings, places of great beauty embellished with mosaics, fountains and sculptures. In the Greco-Roman culture, the Satyrs were figures in which human and animalistic features were merged, joyful followers of the god of wine, Dionysus, who accompanied them in a festive procession. In the imperial age the representation of Satyrs in the grip of intoxication was frequent, as evidenced by the famous Satyr of Herculaneum, today in the Archaeological Museum of Naples, of which the Torlonia bust is a replica: in both sculptures the mythical creature seems to be caught among the joys of a banquet, pleasantly intoxicated by the drink of Dionysus, with the disheveled face and the head, marked by small goat horns.