A ROMAN BRONZE CUPID RIDING A DOLPHIN

CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN BRONZE CUPID RIDING A DOLPHIN
CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
The stylized dolphin depicted plunging downward, its undulating tail rising upward, the winged god riding on its back, leaning back with his arms spread wide, his palms open, his small wings upraised, his hair with a top-knot above his forehead and a central plait across the crown of his head
14 in. (35.5 cm.) long

Provenance

with Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, 1989 (Gods and Mortals, no. 116).

Literature

C.C. Vermeule and J.M. Eisenberg, Catalogue of the Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Bronzes in the Collection of John Kluge, New York and Boston, 1992, no. 88-47.

Lot Essay

Eros is first shown riding a dolphin in Greek art during the 5th century B.C. on vases (Attic and South Italian), on bronze mirror covers, gems and in terracotta. In the earliest depictions he is a young adult rather than a child (see nos. 159-184 in A. Hermary, et al., "Eros" in LIMC). His Roman counterpart Cupid can be shown riding on a dolphin or other sea-creatures on gems, coins, mosaics, wall-paintings and on marble sarcophagi (see nos. 398-419 in Blanc and Gury, "Eros/Amor, Cupid" in LIMC). The present example may once have adorned the fountain of a Roman villa.

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