Plaque with Bacchantes and Satyr c. 1800

Curator: Isn’t this piece, "Plaque with Bacchantes and Satyr," from around 1800 by the Wedgwood Manufactory, absolutely enchanting? It's currently held at The Art Institute of Chicago, a serene blue ceramic relief. Editor: Enchanting is one word for it! My first thought was actually "tumultuous." All that swirling fabric and those entangled bodies. There's definitely an energy, even captured in ceramic, that speaks of… excess. Curator: Excess in all the right places, darling! The Bacchantes, followers of Bacchus, god of wine and revelry…it embodies that carefree abandonment, a sort of playful rebellion. It feels almost... joyful to watch this mayhem unfold, the artist definitely has something to say on how the other half were partying back then! Editor: It makes me think about how we romanticize the past. While these figures seem joyful, there’s a power dynamic here, too. Satyrs and Bacchantes aren't just about carefree fun; their stories are intertwined with the darker sides of mythology—violence and disrupted social order, which always implicates certain groups of people. Who gets to be carefree and who is vulnerable in those situations? Curator: Oh, I see your point. Looking closer, I suppose the satyr is quite literally weighed down—burdened, even. Perhaps it's not *just* joyous; maybe it's a complex meditation on power and who bears the weight, a gorgeous dance of who's got the control over someone else? It feels timeless that way, like it could be about today! Editor: Exactly! And let’s think about Wedgwood—a brand associated with luxury and refinement. To depict this bacchanal, a scene associated with raw emotion and liberation, on such a delicate and decorative object… there’s a tension there. It’s class performing at once, like they know something everyone else doesn't. It opens to further questions about social and aesthetic values of that time. Curator: I suppose it prompts you to dig below that porcelain surface to those darker truths that society likes to conceal... You always manage to strip away the glamour! Even after our little debate, there's no doubt, that for the romantics at heart this piece brings so much more to unpack as well, I mean, aren’t all of our own complexities the ultimate art piece on show here? Editor: And, hopefully, this plaque, a portal into that intricate understanding between us is something to think about as we wander further today... the things we overlook are there, if you are looking for them.