First relief: Bacchic cult procession (Thiasos). The first relief shows an orderly Dionysian cult procession with figures in antique-style robes: a man performing a ritual at a small altar, a winged figure (Cupid/Eros), dancing maenads with vine leaf and grape motifs, and an amphora. The scene clearly refers to the cult of Dionysus/Bacchus as a symbol of wine, fertility, joie de vivre, and the power of nature. The depiction appears solemn, balanced, and cultically harmonious, not ecstatic.
Second relief: Music, dance, and the intoxication of love. The second relief takes up the theme in a more lively and playful way: several cherubs/erots, dancing and reclining bacchantes, a lyre as the central motif, and a larger winged Cupid as the driving force. The focus is on music, dance, love, and emotional devotion. The Dionysian intoxication appears as an aesthetically restrained, classicist exuberance.
CC Attribution-NonCommercialCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Comments