Bacchus-Inspired Date Night with the NCMA

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While the North Carolina Museum of Art galleries remain closed, they have been bringing the collection to the people through their #NCMArecommends series. Each edition is a deep dive into just one work of art, with related events, recipes, art-making activities, family reading suggestions, movie and music recommendations, and more. For this week's edition, dropping tomorrow, they tell the story of our Statue of Bacchus.

Which brings us to their Date Night Around the World! Inspired by the three countries where marble in the Statue of Bacchus originates, Tabletop clients have partnered with NCMA to bring you specialty meals, desserts or beverages from around the world. Enjoy six unexpected culinary adventures with cuisine inspired by the countries of Turkey, Greece, and Italy. The restaurants offering these meals may surprise you, too—like a Japanese eatery serving a Greek dish! These one-of-a-kind dishes are available only until September 15, so start now if you’d like to try them all!

The following restaurant partners adhere to strict safety protocols for dine-in and offer takeout.

Sassool Cafe (Cary & Raleigh) 

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Country of focus: Turkey 

Bacchus Special: Lahem B'ahjeen / Meat Pizzette

Asali Desserts and Cafe, (Cary) 

Country of focus: Turkey 

Bacchus Special: Sahlab Drink

Tonbo Ramen (Raleigh) 

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Country of focus: Greece 

Bacchus Special: “Gyro” Steamed Buns & Bacchus inspired Grilled Lamb Chop Salad

Il Palio (Chapel Hill) 

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Country of focus: Italy 

Bacchus Special: Warm Almond Torta

Coronato Pizza (Carrboro) 

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Country of focus: Italy 

Bacchus Special: Pizza Fico

kō•än (Cary) 

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Country of focus: Greece 

Bacchus Special: Savoro

More about Bacchus: 

The NCMA’s Statue of Bacchus is a patchwork sculpture made from fragments, including a rare 2nd-century Roman torso at its core. The statue is wonderfully complex and intriguing. The marble from its various fragments comes from at least seven ancient quarries in three countries in the Roman Empire (Greece, Turkey, and Italy). Toolmarks and stylistic evidence tell us that not all the fragments are ancient; some fragments were carved at different times, but all were used together to create an image of Bacchus in the late 18th or early 19th century. In the 1960s experts advocated taking the statue apart to display the rare torso; after partial disassembly in the 1980s, Bacchus languished in storage until the beginning of the new millennium. 

The Bacchus Conservation Project involved curators, conservators, classicists, art historians, geologists, engineers, 3-D specialists, artists, and even an NCSU basketball player. Based on research conducted since 2013, the statue’s conservation treatment centered on putting the marble fragments together again—and even replacing its missing arm! The Statue of Bacchus is now fully restored, and you can see its transformation in the project’s latest blog post. When the NCMA reopens, Bacchus will be on display until January 31, 2021, in the exhibition The Bacchus Conservation Project: The Story of a Sculpture.

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