Bas-relief depicting a battle between Eros and Pan
Roman period, 3rd century AD
30 x 25 cm
Marble
The relief is well preserved despite some visible fractures and traces of plaster coating along the edges.
Provenance: Private collection, Paris
This marble bas-relief depicts a dynamic scene in which a winged Eros confronts the satyr Pan in a symbolic battle. Eros is portrayed as a young winged boy in an offensive stance. He leans slightly forward, his right arm raised with a clenched fist, while his left foot is poised to step forward.
Facing him, Pan—a half-man, half-goat creature from Dionysus’ retinue—adopts a defensive posture. His muscular body and tense expression suggest he is ready to counterattack. Between the two figures, an object resembling a rudder may symbolize victory.
The battle between Eros and Pan represents the struggle between restrained love and wild desire. This iconography appears in other artworks, such as a mosaic preserved at the Lugdunum Museum, discovered in Lyon, and another from the Roman Villa del Casale in Sicily, dating to the same period.
PRICE ON REQUEST