Figure of Sleeping Cupid

Figure of sleeping Cupid from a funerary monument. There is a lizard at his feet, which symbolises death as it was believed to live underground. The inverted torch is also a symbol of death. This statue was formerly in the collection of the Villa Mattei. It was probably originally used as part of a grave monument. Purchased from the Villa Mattei Collection by Henry Blundell on his first trip to Italy in 1777.