82nd & Fifth from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The statue was created in seven sections that were joined together. Each cast section was of similar size, providing an indication of the amount of metal that was convenient for the ancient foundry to melt and pour into the mold at one time. The sculpture was hollow-cast by means of a combination of the direct and the indirect lost-wax process.
Detail of the groove on the underside of the left wing. This groove was used to attach the wing to the statue's base.
Detail of the interior of the left wing. The chisel marks indicate where metal was removed so that the wing could be attached to the base.
Underside of the statue
The drapery in the bottom-left portion of the image has been repaired and re-attached. Its high lead content makes it appear more opaque.
X-radiograph of the head and upper body

Close-ups

The bronze statue of Eros sleeping was created in seven sections that were later joined together. View an animation and additional photographs to get a glimpse of the process.

Information

Statue of Eros sleeping, 3rd–2nd century B.C., Hellenistic period
Greek
Bronze
Rogers Fund, 1943 (43.11.4)

Drawing of Cast Sections of the Bronze Statue of Sleeping Eros by Allia Benner.

X-radiograph images courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Sherman Fairchild Center for Objects Conservation