The Pouring Satyr



A consensus has been established recognizing this as a statue type dating from 370 BC, known to us through some 30 copies. The Satyr is the legendary subject of anecdote: Praxiteles was tricked (by Phryne, says Pausanias) into thinking that his workshop was on fire, prompting him to reveal the identity of the statues he felt were his finest creations (the ones worth saving). These turned out to be the Pouring Satyr and an Eros. A companion of the god Dionysos, Eros is represented as a beardless, naked youth, with one arm raised as if holding an oenochoe (a pouring jug), while his left hand holds a vessel to receive the poured liquid. Some commentators identify this as an early work by Praxiteles. Others, basing their assumptions on the iconographical type, which is similar to works of the late 4th century BC, or the Hellenistic period, date the prototype to around 320 BC, Praxiteles's mature period.
The original was doubtless in bronze, explaining why the marble copies resort to a variety of "tricks" to ensure their stability: struts supporting the hands and arms, the presence of a tree-trunk to the left or right…