Sleeping Faun Mask - Item #261

  16 Inches High x 11.5 Inches Wide x 5.75 Inches Deep  Edmé Bouchardon (1698-1762) was a well-known sculptor and draftsman who notably was the royal sculptor to King Louis XV of France. Prior to his fame, when he was studying at the French Academy in Rome after winning the Prix de Rome, he was tasked with recreating the Ancient Greek sculpture known as the Barberini Faun (and also as the Drunken Satyr) as a gift for the King. This ancient work depicts a faun, or more likely, a satyr, reclining on a rock with his right hand behind his head. As a follower of the god of wine, the faun may be exhausted from the festivities and is trying to relax; parts of his body are relaxed while others are tensed. Following its discovery in Rome, the sculpture was recognized for its eroticism and beauty and was added to the pope's family collection, from which it takes its name. By the time Bouchardon copied the sculpture, it had undergone several restorations meant to replace missing parts, some of wh