East Riding Museums

This item is in the Burton Constable Hall collections and is included on this database by kind permission of the Burton Constable Foundation. Having fallen in love with Theseus, who was held captive by her father King Minos of Crete, Ariadne decided to betray her father by assisting Theseus to escape. Despite her endeavours, Theseus later abandoned Ariadne on the island of Naxos, where she encountered, and was rescued by, Bacchus. Collins based his composition of Bacchus and Ariadne on an Antique gem that was illustrated in Pierres Antiques Graveés, published in 1724 by Philip, Baron von Stosch and Bernard Picart. William Constable’s copy of the book survives in the library. Located in the Dining Room