Satyr with grapes

Initially included in the Roman collections of the Della Valle family, this sculpture was acquired by the Medici in 1584, arriving however in Florence from the Villa Medici only in the last twenty years of the 18th century. The subject depicts a young satyr accompanied by a panther, carrying on his shoulder the skin of a fawn (nebris), using it as a bag for fruit. The character leans against a tree trunk, from behind which a small panther peeps out. Inspired by a possible bronze prototype, generically datable to the 2nd-1st century BC, the subject was copied several times in the imperial age, perhaps finding use as a garden ornament. Due to the abundant presence of traces of drill work - especially in the rendering of the fruit - a date of the late 2nd century AD has been hypothesised for this work.