Trapezoforo

myminifactory

The table support was relocated to Naples from Villa Madama and underwent extensive restoration work by Carlo Albacini. The sculptural decoration is fully realized on the frontal aspect of the screen, framed by molded cornices at top and bottom, while the sides are carved in high relief. A dramatic depiction of the Homeric myth of Scylla ensnaring Ulysses' sailors unfolds on its surface. Emerging from the woman's body, her arm flung wildly over her head, a sea monster bursts forth, encircling the lifeless form of a man with loops of its fish-like tail. Meanwhile, three dog heads emerging from her stomach wreak havoc on other shipwrecked sailors struggling in the waves below. On the opposite side, a centaur is depicted, her niece moving in the wind as she grasps a reed in her left hand and holds a small cupid seated on her back. Above her soars an eagle clutching a snake in its talons. This table support, whose intricate decoration rivals that of the famous Scylla group found in Tiberius' Grotto at Sperlonga, can be dated to around the middle of the 2nd century AD.