A Roman Marble Figure of Eros with the Attributes of Herakles, circa 2nd Century A.D.

the winged god seated on a rocky outcrop over a lion skin, resting his left hand on the rock, and raising his right hand holding a club, his legs crossed and hanging above the ground, his head with unruly hair lowered to the left; head repaired but belonging, restored are the right cheek incl. nose and part of chin, right arm incl. club (originally raised arm indicated by trace of strut on right side of head), left arm incl. top of rock, both kneecaps, left foot, front and sole of right foot, both wings (in accordance with ancient traces).

European private collection, 18th Century (based on restoration techniques)
English private collection

Minor marble fills, chips and abrasions, a max. 5-cm. diam. deep hole on the underside.
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The statue belongs to a statuary type of Eros discussed by M. Söldner, Untersuchungen zu liegenden Eroten in der hellenistischen und römischen Kunst, 1986, pp. 151ff. The original is dated to the late Hellenistic period. Other copies, for example a statue from the collection of Robin Symes (Christie’s, New York, June 8th, 2001, no. 284), prove that the original showed the boy riding on a dolphin. In the present case, the sculptor changed the boy’s seat and added the lion skin, an attribute of Herakles. Depicting Eros as Herakles was not uncommon in Roman times; cf. two statues in the Galleria Doria: R. Calza, ed., Antichità di Villa Doria Pamphilj, 1977, p. 82f., nos. 94–95, pl. 61. The attributes of the hero symbolize the power of the god of love.