After months (nay, years!) of conservation TLC, Bacchus is looking like a new man! He’s still his old composite self, but he “cleans up real nice” and looks fantastic with his new right arm. He’s got NCMA Objects Conservator Corey Smith Riley and multimedia artist Larry Heyda, of Lawrence Heyda Studios, to thank for his dashing new looks. Thanks to NCMA Videographer Luke Mehaffie, who documented every minute of the whole process, you can see Bacchus transform before your eyes in this video presented in the exhibition The Bacchus Conservation Project: The Story of a Sculpture, on view until January 31, 2021.
Caroline Rocheleau is director of research and curator of ancient art at the NCMA.
Black Light on Bacchus: Inside a UV Exam
To free the important ancient torso from its 16th-century surround, we’re looking at this composite statue in a different light. Literally…
Where Did Bacchus Go?
Conservators have removed this composite sculpture in order to detach its rare ancient torso.