A carved marble puteal (wellhead) with relief frieze depicting a Dionysian (or, in Roman terminology, Bacchic) procession, the taller, more narrow form of the piece reminiscent of Roman wellheads of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, the procession showing Hermes identified by his winged helmet and winged sandals, delivering the baby Dionysus the god of wine, festivity, and fertility, to one of the nymphs of Nysa, who raised him, the nymph displaying a panther pelt on her lap, an animal often associated with the god, the frieze further depicting Dionysus at two later stages of life–one as a youth with canine companion, the young god with head thrown back in revelry and holding a thyrsus, the pinecone-topped staff (a Dionysian attribute), and the last depiction of Dionysus being a bearded older man, also holding a thyrsus and leaning on a boulder for balance, being in a drunken state represented by the discarded wine amphora at his feet–with the procession completed by a flute-blowing celebrant and a woman tapping on the elder Dionysus’ shoulder, perhaps representing his wife, Ariadne, Italian, ca. 1850.

The Dionysian processional frieze shown here is a replica of one seen on an Antique Greek wellhead in the Vatican Museum collection.

The present wellhead, though dating to the mid-19th century, is unusual in that it displays pointed chisel marks on the interior and drill holes in the hair and beards of the figures–both features associated with period Roman wellheads. The fragments of lead seen in holes on the rim of the piece indicates that it once held a metal overthrow, and the more-recent iron liner points to it’s having been used as a planter previously.

39.5 ins. high, 34 ins. diameter