248 - William Anstey Dollond,

William Anstey Dollond, British 1858-1929- A Graeco-Roman woman in a marble interior, probably a Maenad worshipping a bust of Dionysus; pencil and watercolour heightened with white on card, signed 'W.AnsteyDollond' (lower left), 33.8 x 24.8 cm. Provenance: Private Collection, UK. Note: William Anstey Dollond worked mainly in watercolours, and even though he started his career painting landscapes, he focused on Neoclassical subjects upon his arrival to London circa 1880. He would train at Heatherley's School of Fine Art in Chelsea, and drew inspiration from the work of famous Neoclassical painters of his generation, such as Henry Ryland (1856-1924) or John William Godward (1861-1922). The present work enters by full right the canon of Victorian Neoclassical art, in which representations of women dressed in draped Graeco-Roman costume pose delicately in marble interiors. The feminine figure here depicted carries a basket of grapes and other fruits, and offers a bunch of grapes to the marble bust—probably a representation of Greek God of Wine and Festivity Dionysus. It is very likely that this woman is intended to symbolise a Maenad, a follower of Dionysus, as her representation fits their typical iconography, which includes hair decorated with ivy, a draped dress, and a merry attitude. Anstey Dolland makes a specific reference in this watercolour: the inscription on the plinth of the marble bust reads 'KOMOΣ'. The kōmos (κῶμος) was a specific Greek ritual that took place in the form of a procession, and involved abundant consume of wine. It was deeply associated to and often celebrated in honour of Dionysus, hence the visual citation in the present lot.