2937 - Pair of Borghese Centaur Counterparts. Cast marble. Exquisitely crafted, mirror-image sculptures modeled after the famous ancient Roman marble sculpture in the Louvre. Depicted is an elderly, bearded centaur with a tormented expression and his arms crossed behind his back. Created in the late 1st or early 2nd century CE based on Hellenistic models, this sculpture was intended to remind Roman viewers of the soul tormented by love—a theme further emphasized by the figure of Eros riding atop the centaur in the Louvre sculpture. Like the comparable so-called “Furietti” centaurs, the Borghese Centaur—discovered in Rome in the 17th century—is also considered a masterpiece of ancient sculpture. It was acquired from the Borghese Collection by Emperor Napoleon in 1807 and thus came to Paris and later to the Louvre. Height: 50 cm.

Pair of Borghese Centaur Counterparts. Cast marble. Exquisitely crafted, mirror-image sculptures modeled after the famous ancient Roman marble sculpture in the Louvre. Depicted is an elderly, bearded centaur with a tormented expression and his arms crossed behind his back. Created in the late 1st or early 2nd century CE based on Hellenistic models, this sculpture was intended to remind Roman viewers of the soul tormented by love—a theme further emphasized by the figure of Eros riding atop the centaur in the Louvre sculpture. Like the comparable so-called “Furietti” centaurs, the Borghese Centaur—discovered in Rome in the 17th century—is also considered a masterpiece of ancient sculpture. It was acquired from the Borghese Collection by Emperor Napoleon in 1807 and thus came to Paris and later to the Louvre. Height: 50 cm. A pair of Italian cast marble Borghese Centaurs. Early 21st century. Italy. After 2000.