Marble Sculptural Group with Eros and Psyche

The marble sculptural group depicting Eros and Psyche, carved in white marble, is preserved in a semi-finished state, as shown by the absence of some anatomical details and final surface finishing. The subject represents the two figures in a tender embrace.
Eros (Love), lacking the head and the left forearm, is shown frontally, with the weight of his body resting on the left leg and the right leg slightly bent. His right arm encircles the head of Psyche. Psyche, with her head gently turned toward Eros, is nude in the upper part of her body, while a drapery wraps around her hips and crossed legs, leaving only one foot exposed. The base features a simple moulding with an oblique frame and four low parallelepiped supports; its rigidity further confirms the unfinished stage of the work.

The sculptural group was found at sea, near the beach of Punta Scifo, and formed part of the cargo of a Roman shipwreck identified in this area. The surface of the statue, still partly rough-worked, indicates that the sculpture had not yet been completed; it is therefore likely that the final finishing was intended to take place at its destination, where it would have been installed as a decorative element.

The subject is drawn from the myth of Cupid and Psyche, recounted in the Metamorphoses by Apuleius, which tells the story of the love between the god Cupid (Amor) and the mortal Psyche, the personification of the human soul. After enduring numerous trials and sufferings imposed by Venus, Psyche proves the strength of her love and is granted immortality. In the Roman world, their embrace became a particularly widespread image, symbolizing the union of divine love and the human soul, the triumph of love over adversity, and the hope of spiritual elevation.