A ROMAN MARBLE SLEEPING EROS

CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE SLEEPING EROS
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.
The child god depicted reclining on his mantle which is spread over a rock, his legs open, his torso twisted to his left revealing his wings, resting his head on his left arm, atop a fillet of ivy and berries above an open jar, his right arm positioned across his body, the palm upwards on a cup, his head with his characteristic prominent central plait over the crown of his head, some wisps of curling locks falling along his left arm
21 in. (53 cm.) long

Provenance

Gawain McKinley (1945-1996), London, acquired between 1982-1994.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 8 December 1994, lot 289.

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Lot Essay

In the Hellenistic Period, artistic trends in depictions of Eros often capture the God of Love as a young boy, physically paunchy with childlike and even mischievous manners. As Bieber describes, (The Sculpture of the Hellenistic Age, p. 145) "after dancing, floating through the air, enjoying banquets, and shooting his arrows at young men and women, the mischievous boy is tired and falls asleep." Here, over-indulgence in wine contributed to his exhaustion. For a fine example in bronze in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and another in marble in the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome, see figs. 616-618 and 620 in Bieber, op. cit.

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