The hunchbacked figure is captured mid-dance, balancing on his right leg with the left crossed over it, his face with refined and attractive features. His phallus comically oversized and tucked downwards between his legs. His head turns sharply to the left, crowned with a delicate wreath of flowers. His eyes, inlaid with silver and pierced with holes for the pupils, lend a vivid, animated quality to his expression. The sculptor has carefully rendered his thin, awkward limbs and exaggerated chest and back, underscoring his physical deformity. Both hands are raised and pierced, indicating they once held objects, traces of which remain in the right hand. As confirmed by the illustration in the old Gréau sale catalogue, these remnants suggest he was playing an instrument while dancing. The bronze has a casting flaw or old mounting hole to the bottom. There is a pierced hole to the top of the spine. The whole proper left foot and ankle has been made-up in modern times.
At least two other extremely similar bronzes have appeared on the market in the 20th century, though none are as fine or in such good condition as the present example. However, they indicate that this image was clearly a specific genre, and must have represented something rather particular, the exact meaning of which has now been lost.
In Hellenistic bronze art, such depictions of grotesque and comic figures marked a departure from the classical ideals of beauty. These exaggerated, expressive, and often deformed characters challenged aesthetic norms. Frequently misshapen or caricatured, they introduced an unsettling yet compelling presence. The laughter they evoked went beyond simple amusement, for it held an apotropaic function, intended to ward off evil. In this context, the grotesques, with their distorted and often repulsive features, served as protective forces. By provoking laughter, these figures helped viewers confront and dispel fears of the unknown, the ugly, or the malevolent.
Provenance
Possibly Julien Gréau (1810-1895), France, sold through Hôtel Drouot, Paris, France, 1st-9th June 1885, no.986Galerie du Sycamore, Paris, France; acquired by March 1990
Monsieur N. France; acquired from the above, 1990
Julien Gréau (1810–1895) was a French collector with a wide-ranging interest in art and antiquities, particularly drawn to ancient objects. He had a penchant for building collections and then selling them to start new ones. Among the many types of artifacts he collected were coins, bronzes, and terracottas. His most significant focus, however, was ancient glass, ultimately assembling a collection of around 5,000 glass pieces, approximately 1,000 of which were intact. He also gathered a substantial number of Roman and Gaulish pottery items. Gréau’s collection was eventually purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan and entered the Pierpont Morgan Museum’s holdings as part of Morgan’s 1917 donation. The collection is documented in a catalogue composed of a text volume and five folio volumes of illustrations.
