A rare large-scale Roman bronze, the Drunken Satyr from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy, has arrived at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa for study and conservation. Hear conservator Erik Risser describe the collaborative conservation project, which will continue into 2019.

One of a handful of large-scale bronze sculptures to survive from the ancient classical world has arrived at the Getty Villa for study and conservation treatment. The sculpture depicts a drunken satyr (satiro ebbro)—a follower of the wine god Dionysos in Greek and Roman mythology, half man, half goat—and once formed part of the sculpture collection of the Villa dei Papiri (Villa of the Papyri) in Herculaneum. Villa dei Papiri was the principal model for the architecture of the Getty Villa; in fact, a modern replica of this very statue sits in the reflecting pool of the Villa’s outer peristyle garden.

The bronze has left Italy for the first time since it was made over 2,000 years ago, on rare loan from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Along with other loans from Naples and Herculaneum, the sculpture is a centerpiece of the exhibition After Vesuvius: Treasures from the Villa dei Papiri (June 26–October 27, 2019).