Head of Eros, from a relief
Ancient roman, circa 2nd - 3rd century A.D.
White marble, with brown encrustation,
on a wooden ebonised base
11 cm high
Provenance:
Private collection, London
Rosebery’s, London, 2016
Galerie Chenel, Paris;
Private collection, Belgium
This beautiful little fragment of the head of Eros was possibly part of a larger high-relief sculpture or decorative scheme, like those found on ancient sarcophagi. The expressive character of the face is comparable to those found on the playful erotes figures that decorate the 1st century A.D. ‘Throne of Saturn’ relief at the Museo Archeologico, Venice. Carved from fine, crystalline, white statuary marble, the surface is attractively stained with brown/orange marks that betray its antiquity and subterranean submersion for many hundreds of years.
Ancient roman, mid-1st century A.D., Relief with putti, marble. Throne of Saturn, Museo Archeologico, Venice
Ancient roman, mid-1st century A.D., Relief with putti, marble. Throne of Saturn, Museo Archeologico, Venice