Man Seated on a Rockwork Throne

4th-3rd century BCE · Sculpture

May one see it?

Not receiving at present

Harvard Art Museums

Cambridge, United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 2 days ago
In this state since: Sep 27, 2026
Source: The museum's own collection data

On the map Museum page

About the sculpture

Man Seated on a Rockwork Throne

The figure is badly damaged from the shoulder down on the right side. The left knee, the lower part of Eros, and the attributes and left arm of the seated figure have also suffered. A large round hole runs through, front to back, just above the ground.

The figure is seated with a recumbent sphinx at his left side, and an Eros riding a dolphin at his left leg. The figure is portly and wears a cloak covering the back and the left shoulder. The other end of the cloak seems to cover the subject's right leg and hand down beside the right foot. He may also be wearing a Hellenistic cuirass with skirts, although the condition of the front makes detail hard to see. The Eros touches the figure's left knee with the right hand and the Sphinx's right paw with the left hand.

Read on

D. G. Mitten has suggested this man may be one of the early Ptolemies (either Ptolemy II or III), who claimed not only Egypt (hence the sphinx) but also Cyprus, the island of Aphrodite's birth (hence her son Eros, riding on a dolphin).

Cornelius Vermeule and Amy Brauer

Harvard Art Museums