Dancing dwarf
The marble dancing dwarf with his fine features is almost certainly from Alexandria. As in so many aspects of Ptolemaic art, the dwarf represents the convergence of different trends.
Although in this instance the top of the head, arms and legs are missing, bronze statuettes of dancers and dwarf-dancers often hold castanets, and the origin of the type should probably be associated with the castanet-playing dancers hired for religious or private occasions who are noted in some Ptolemaic papyri. In Greece such dancers had long been associated with ecstatic orgiastic cults like those of Dionysus or Cybele, so it could be that such cults are sometimes involved. However, the employment of such individuals certainly was adopted for private occasions and banquets. The figure, then, might have recalled a particular occasion, or been a more general evocation of festivity.
This dwarf is rendered without caricature, which suits the long Egyptian tradition in which dwarves were integrated in society and had in general positive associations, and by this time appeared mostly as gods - Bes or Pataikos. The nakedness of the figure is perhaps more suited to Greek tradition, while the highly developed rendering of the dwarf's musculature and body form is a Hellenistic tendency: in a world greatly interconnected, there was strong interest in the array of human types and even study of body types.
Although in this instance the top of the head, arms and legs are missing, bronze statuettes of dancers and dwarf-dancers often hold castanets, and the origin of the type should probably be associated with the castanet-playing dancers hired for religious or private occasions who are noted in some Ptolemaic papyri. In Greece such dancers had long been associated with ecstatic orgiastic cults like those of Dionysus or Cybele, so it could be that such cults are sometimes involved. However, the employment of such individuals certainly was adopted for private occasions and banquets. The figure, then, might have recalled a particular occasion, or been a more general evocation of festivity.
This dwarf is rendered without caricature, which suits the long Egyptian tradition in which dwarves were integrated in society and had in general positive associations, and by this time appeared mostly as gods - Bes or Pataikos. The nakedness of the figure is perhaps more suited to Greek tradition, while the highly developed rendering of the dwarf's musculature and body form is a Hellenistic tendency: in a world greatly interconnected, there was strong interest in the array of human types and even study of body types.
Artwork Details
- Title: Dancing dwarf
- Period: Ptolemaic Period
- Date: 332–150 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Marble
- Dimensions: H. 10 cm (3 15/16 in.); W. 4.9 cm (1 15/16 in.); D. 4.2 cm (1 5/8 in.)
- Credit Line: Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926
- Object Number: 26.7.1403
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.