Philetus, a freedman of the Augusti, willingly fulfilled his dedication to the Invincible God Serapis and Queen Isis (of this) small altar with (its) base and two statuettes for his own safety and that of Aurelia Quintiliana.
The reference to two emperors, as indicated by the abbreviation AVGG, suggests a date in the joint reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, AD 161–69.
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Title:Marble statue of Dionysos seated on a panther
Artist:François Duquesnoy
Period:Imperial
Date:1st–3rd century CE
Culture:Roman
Medium:Marble
Dimensions:Overall: 56 3/8 in. (143.2 cm) Storage (weight on standard pallett): 843lb. (382.4kg)
Classification:Stone Sculpture
Credit Line:Gift of Mrs. Frederick F. Thompson, 1903
Object Number:03.12.7
Inscription: On the small altar:
INVICTO DEO SERAPI ET ISIDI REGINAE PHILETVS AVGG LIB PRO INCOLV- MITATE SVA ET AVRELIAE QVI- NTILIANAE A- RVLAM CVM BASI ET SIGILLA DVO VOTUM LIBES SOLVIT
CIL VI.1, 574
Duquesnoy François, Theodor Matham, Claude Mellan, Joachim von Sandrart, and Torlonia, originally Borghese Giulio Giacomo Pio Mario Ignazio Baldassare Ruggiero principe di Fucino. 1631. Galleria Giustiniana del marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani. no. 139, Rome.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1954. Catalogue of Greek Sculptures. no. 209, p. 107, pls. 148a–b, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Fusconi, Giulia. 2001. I Giustiniani e l'Antico : Palazzo Fontana di Trevi, Roma 26 ottobre 2001-27 gennaio 2002. cat. 25, pp. 259–64, pl. 25a, Roma: L'Erma di Bretschneider.
Raggio, Olga. 2005. "A Giustiniani Bacchus and François Duquesnoy." Metropolitan Museum Journal, 40: pp. 20–21, 198–203, figs.1–2,4,7,9, pls. 21–22.
Abramitis, Dorothy H. 2005. "Conservation Report, "Bacchus Seated on a Panther." Metropolitan Museum Journal, 40: pp. 211–15, figs. 23–28, pls. 21–22.
Zanker, Paul, Seán Hemingway, Christopher S. Lightfoot, and Joan R. Mertens. 2019. Roman Art : A Guide through the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Collection. pp. 376, 381, fig. 153, New York: Scala Publishers.
Lachenal, Lucilla de. 2020. "Antique and not Antique in the Torlonia Marbles. Suggestions for a HIstory of the Restorations from the 17th–19th Century." The Torlonia Marbles : Collecting Masterpieces, Salvatore Settis and Carlo Gasparri, eds. pp. 80–81, fig. 3, Milan: Electa.
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The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than 30,000 works ranging in date from the Neolithic period to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312.
