A Roman Marble Figure of a Satyr Having a Thorn Removed from his Foot, circa 2nd Century A.D.

after a Hellenistic group sculpture of the 2nd/1st Century B.C., leaning back with his head lifted and tilted to his left, and wearing a goat skin falling from his left shoulder, his contorted face with gaping mouth, wide-opened eyes with drilled pupils, and furrowed brow; both lower arms and both legs incl. genitalia, support, and plinth restored.

the sculptor Sir Richard Westmacott, Jr. (1775-1856), London, as of 1833
Christie’s, London, February 24th, 1970, no. 55, illus. (sold to "Walter")
Christie's, London, October 18th, 1972, no. 182, illus.
Giorgio Fallani & Carlo-Maria Fallani, via del Babuino, 58a, Rome, prior to or in 1974
American private collection, until 2013

Galerie Chenel, Paris, Fusion, 2014

Comte de Clarac, Musée de sculpture antique et moderne, vol. 4, Paris, 1850, p. 252, no. 1708a, pl. 710a
Salomon Reinach, Répertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine, vol. 1, Paris, 1897, p. 402, no. 3
Adolf Michaelis, "Die Privatsammlungen antiker Bildwerke in England," Archäologische Zeitung, vol. 32, 1874, p. 41
Adolf Michaelis, Ancient Marbles in Great Britain, Cambridge, 1882, p. 487, no. 3
Claudia Klages, Tanzende Satyrn. Untersuchungen zur Typologie und Ikonographie hellenistischer Kleinkunst, doct. diss., Bonn, 1997, p. 84
Katharina Meinecke, "Antike Dornauszieher-gruppen," Babesch. Annual Papers on Mediterranean Archaeology, vol. 91, 2016, p. 149, no. A10, fig. 6
Arachne, no. 51318: five photographs accessioned in 1974, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Rome, neg. nos. 74.262–66 (http://arachne.uni-koeln.de/item/objekt/51318)

Restored: base, support, legs until above genitalia, both arms across elbows. Restored lips now missing. Surface of ancient torso and head slightly weathered overall. Restorations in good condition except for one missing toe and the others abraded on proper left foot. Repairs across ankles and below knees. Missing top of implement held in right hand. Abraded and chipped fingers on right hand.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Meinecke (op. cit.) p. 149 recognised the core of this restored statuette as the torso and head of a seated satyr having Pan remove a thorn from his foot. For a well-preserved example of this group in the Louvre, inv. no. Ma 320, see M. Bieber, The Sculpture of the Hellenistic Age, 1961, p. 148, fig. 634 (http://arachne.uni-koeln.de/item/objekt/14740). A torso of a satyr from a different version of this group was sold at Sotheby's, New York, December 10th, 2009, no. 21.

Other marbles from the Westmacott Collection include a statuette of the Muse Melpomene (Michaelis, op. cit., p. 487, no. 2; sold at Sotheby’s, New York, June 8th, 2011, no. 47; now in an American private collection), a statue of a girl (Michaelis, op. cit., p. 487, no. 5; sold at Sotheby’s, London, June 28th, 1965, no. 153), a statuette of Sarapis (Michaelis, op. cit., p. 486, no. 1; now in the Getty Museum: C. Vermeule, The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, vol. 2, 1975, pp. 99ff., figs. 1ff.), and a torso of a youth restored as a "Young Marcus Aurelius" (Michaelis, op. cit., p. 487, no. 6; sold at Sotheby’s, London, November 29th, 1965, no. 143; then with Robin Symes, and now in a South American private collection).