
Anna Marston
Associate Specialist
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Provenance:
G.L. collection, Ascona, reputedly prior to 1980.
with Galerie Serodine, Ascona.
Private collection, Switzerland, acquired from the above 11 November 2012.
There are multiple myths linking Dionysos to mules or donkeys. One is where he comes upon a swamp during his wanderings that is too deep for him to cross. There are two donkeys on the shoreline and he catches and rides one across the swamp. As a thank-you for helping him cross the god makes the two donkeys constellations (part of the modern day Cancer constellation). Another is when Dionysos brings Hephaestos back to Mount Olympus on the back of a donkey after he was expelled for his deformities.