Double-sided bust

Two back-to-back busts of bacchantes.
Carrara marble.
Italy, 19th century.

This marble represents two women’s faces in antique style. It bears the inscription “BACCHA”, bacchante in Latin, on the base of each face.
Their idealised faces in pure neoclassical style are not differentiated, unlike the figure of Janus. As followers of Bacchus’ parade, they represent a typology of mythical beings.
Worked with care, the hair of the two figures present graceful curls at their extremities as well as in the detail of the hair strands that fall in front of their ears.