This work derives its name from the shape, which recalls that of an altar. In reality, it is a base, on which a statue was originally placed, as suggested by the holes on the upper floor, intended to anchor the sculpture. On the front side the figures of two Satyrs and a Maenad are carved: a first Satyr is lying on a rock covered with an animal skin holding a cup of wine; the other Satyr and the Maenad are stretched out towards each other. On the short sides of the Ara Grimani: on the left a Maenad playing the lyre, accompanied by a Satyr dressed only in a fawn or kid skin; on the right a Satyr and a Maenad are caught in the act of kissing. On the other long side of the Ara Grimani: a Satyr is lying on a lion's skin with a cup and the thyrsus, the sacred staff of Dionysus, while a Maenad plays an ancient stringed instrument, the trine, similar to the harp of today. Particularly noteworthy is the decoration of the high plinth and of the crowning on the upper part of the Ara Grimani: they are adorned with a series of frames carved with refined vegetal and geometric motifs. The style of the figures of the Ara Grimani, which are inspired by models of Hellenistic art, and the very elegant decorative motifs of the plinth and of the crown, are part of the typical schemes of the workshops in Rome of the Augustan age.