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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bronwen, post: 12263206, member: 5833&quot;]Androgyny seems to be more the rule than the exception with these and I have had deep although friendly disagreements with another collector, whose judgment I hold in highest regard, on this same question: Bacchus or bacchante?&nbsp; There are many cases where identity hangs on whether that partially seen bulge on the chest is a female breast, a well developed pectoral muscle, or a man boob from too much dissolute living.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]553101[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Early in my collecting I contacted someone through eBay who I could tell by the cameos he was selling (&amp; their prices) was serious &amp; knowledgeable in the field to ask about this.&nbsp; He was kind enough to reply and said that it used to be popular for lady visitors to Rome to have themselves portrayed as Dionysus, hence the effeminate appearance.&nbsp; I have never encountered this claim anywhere else &amp; it seems to me that the figure is pretty generic, not representations of specific individuals, so I have my doubts.</p><p><br /></p><p>I get into an epistemic tizzy over this: who/what did the cutter think he was cutting?&nbsp; Did he have an identity in mind or was he just copying without giving it any thought?&nbsp; What if he thought it was one figure but tradition/scholarship identifies the figure as someone else?&nbsp; Does it matter?</p><p><br /></p><p>Yours is unusual in being wreathed with ivy rather than grape leaves.&nbsp; Ivy is also appropriate, but grape is more common.&nbsp; Based on a small detail I lean toward Bacchus/Dionysus.&nbsp; Both shoulders are covered.&nbsp; Also, the way the hair is bound is characteristic of the god.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Agree.&nbsp; She looks like Arethusa could have been her great-great-grandmother, but I think she is the cutter&#039;s riff on the type.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m seeing this more &amp; more.&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/smilies/frown.png" class="mceSmilie" alt=":(" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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