Eros as warrior

Classification

sculpture / statue ; statuette

Culture

Graeco-Egyptian (culture)

Dimensions

height: 15 cm

Date

late 2nd century B.C.

Period

Ptolemaic period (323–30)

Material

clay

Iconography

Eros ; shield ; mantle ; chiton ; ribbon ; floral wreath

Production place

Egypt

Present location

Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts, Collection of Classical Antiquities

Provenance

Arndt, Paul (1865–1937)

Inventory

T.488

Hyp-542

Condition

Small part of the back at base and part of the base broken off and lost.

References

Weber 1914, 112 note 21; Oroszlán 1930, 71, no. D 80; Szilágyi, J. Gy. 1981, 26 No. 22/j; Török 1995, 45, no. 36; Török 2005a, 48, no. 13; Török 2005b, 58–59, no. 13

Eros, son of Aphrodite, child god of love, is represented here as a warrior. He stands in a static posture, wearing a short-sleeved chiton, an armour and mantle. The face of the god is delicately modelled. The iconographic origins of the statuette can be found in Alexandrian representations of the fighting Erotes created around the late thrid-early second century B. C.

This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.