1977.216.3417: Cupid
SculptureIdentification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1977.216.3417
- Title
- Cupid
- Other Titles
- Alternate Title: Winged Eros
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Work Type
- statuette, sculpture
- Date
- 1st-3rd century CE
- Places
- Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
- Period
- Roman Imperial period
- Culture
- Roman
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/304104
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Bronze
- Technique
- Cast
- Dimensions
- 3 cm (1 3/16 in.)
- Technical Details
-
Technical Observations: The patina is brown with some accretions in crevices. The object is in good condition, although the proper left arm below the forearm is missing. The figure is a solid cast made in one piece. It appears to have been modeled directly in the wax. There is no evidence of cold working.
Nancy Lloyd (submitted 2001)
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Department of the Classics, Harvard University
- Accession Year
- 1977
- Object Number
- 1977.216.3417
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Descriptions
Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This crudely made figure of Cupid (Eros) has a thick, babyish body. The thighs are joined to below the knees, but the figure still manages to give the impression of motion, stepping onto his left foot, with his torso bent into an S-curve. The left arm is raised and may have held an object in the now-missing hand (1). The lowered right hand is empty, with open palm turned forward; fingers are lightly indicated. Cupid raises his head toward the right; his facial features are indistinct. His hair is arranged in a topknot above his brow, with curled locks of hair framing his face. Plain wings sprout from his shoulders on the back.
In contrast to the Greek Eros, who was often depicted as a nude youth with wings, Roman Cupid generally took on the appearance of a putto, a slightly chubby young child. Cupids are depicted participating in many activities in Roman art, from music and dancing (2) to harvesting and farming (3) to fighting and playing games (4). Cupids (erotes) often appear as attendants to other deities, especially Venus (Aphrodite), and Harvard’s copper alloy Cupid statuettes may have been part of larger statuette groups (5). Cupids are also depicted with ritual accoutrements, such as offering plates or garlands, or in ritual actions such as pouring libations and participating in animal sacrifice (6).
NOTES:
1. Compare D. G. Mitten, Classical Bronzes, Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art (Providence, 1975) 184-85, no. 62, who has a jug in his raised right hand and patera in his lowered left hand.
2. See, for example, Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae Eros/Amor, Cupido nos. 449-88.
3. See, for example, LIMC Eros/Amor, Cupido nos. 489-527.
4. See, for example, LIMC Eros/Amor, Cupido nos. 230-66.
5. For all examples of cupids in service of deities, see LIMC Eros/Amor, Cupido nos. 589-631; for Venus specifically, see LIMC Eros/Amor, Cupido nos. 589-605. Compare also LIMC Eros (in per. or.) nos. 76-88. For additional examples of Cupid and Venus groups in bronze, see A. de Ridder, Catalogue de la collection de Clercq 3: Les bronzes (Paris, 1905) 52-53, 61-62, 80-81, 87, and 91-92; nos. 61, 80, 113, 124, and 133; pls. 10, 13, 24, 27, and 29.
6. See, for example, LIMC Eros/Amor, Cupido nos. 689-714.
Jane A. Scott and Lisa M. Anderson
Subjects and Contexts
- Ancient Bronzes
- Roman Domestic Art
Related Objects
Verification Level
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu