CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.

The Eros of Centocelle takes its name from the fragmentary statue found at Centocelle in the 18th century on the outskirts of Rome by Gavin Hamilton, and now in the Vatican (see no. 94 in A. Pasquier and J.-L. Martinez, Praxitèle). The type is known from more than twenty surviving copies ranging from life-sized to miniature, including some complete figures, several torsos and a number of heads, to which the present example can be added. The most complete version is the so-called Farnese Eros now in Naples (see fig. 225 in Pasquier and Martinez, op. cit.). All depict the winged god as a nude adolescent boy standing with his weight on his left leg. In his lowered hands he holds a quiver and likely a bow. His head is turned to his right and inclined somewhat forward. The distinctive long hair falls along his neck and is tied is a knot at the front, with loose curls falling onto his forehead and cheeks, the wavy strands divided by deep drill-work.

The type has been attributed by most scholars to the 4th century Athenian sculptor Praxiteles, and is thought to be the Eros that he sculpted for Thespiae in Boeotia. The number of surviving copies certainly argues for a famous lost original (for a recent discussion, see A. Corso, “Love as Suffering: The Eros of Thespiae of Praxiteles,” Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, vol. 42, pp. 63-91). The type was sometimes adopted by Roman sculptors for depictions of Eros’ brother Thanatos (see for example the statue from the Horti Maecenas now in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome, no. 1092, pl. 56 in H. Stuart Jones, A Catalogue of the Ancient Sculpture Preserved in the Municipal Collections of Rome: The Sculptures of the Palazzo dei Conservatori).