Bronze Statuette of Eros Sleeping in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 2009

Bronze Statuette of Eros Sleeping
Greek or Roman, 1st century BC- 2nd century AD
Reduced version of a Greek bronze statue of the 3rd or 2nd century BC

Accession # 13.225.2

During the Hellenistic period, bronzes came to be appreciated, collected, and displayed for their own sake. Ownership spread most widely in the private sphere, and new types and motifs were introduced to meet the demand. The sleeping Eros had such wide appeal that it was reproduced in bronze, terracotta, and marble in many sizes and was marketed all over the Greek world.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.