The Barberini Faun, also called the Sleeping Satyr, is a classic Greek carving from the 220 BCE.
Carved in marble by a Greek sculptor, possibly Praxiteles, in 220 BCE. It was found during the 17th century in the mausoleum of the Emporer Hadrian (76-138 CE). Hadrian was famously in love with the young Greek Antinuous, who drowned in the Nile mysteriously in 130 CE. Perhaps Emporer Hadrian had the Sleeping Satyr installed in his tomb in rememberance of his lover. Hadrian's Tomb is in Rome and is now known as Castel Sant'Angelo.
The Barberinis, who apparently first discovered the marble, were a wealthy Roman family who had a vast palace. It still stands today in Rome near the Piazza Barberini. Their residence, called the Palazzo Barberini was designed by Maderno and later Gianlorenzo Bernini around 1630. The Barberini Palace housed the marble after its discovery in Hadrian's Tomb in the 17th century. The Palazzo Barberini is now the location of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica. The Barberinis probably sold the marble to Ludwig I of Bavaria during the 1700's when they sold much of their collection.
Eventually, King Luwig I of Bavaria bought the marble from the Barberinis and brought it the Bavaria, Germany. The king had the architect Klenze build the Glyptotek in the 1830's to house his collection of "carvings" (glyphein is the greek root meaning to carve).
Some say it is a roman copy of the Greek original. It is 215 cm (84.6 in) tall. Several pieces were missing, such as the right leg, left forearm and foot, these have been reconstructed. The moderm version is permanently on display at the Glyptotek Museum in Munich, Germany.
This marble is known as the Barberini Faun or Sleeping Satyr. In Greek mythology, satyrs were humanoid male woodland spirits with several animal features. These features were often a goat-like tail, hoofs, ears, or horns. Satyrs attended to Dionysus, the Greek god of revelry, and this specimen, laying seductively naked in a drunken doze, is certainly Exhibit A. A faun is the Roman equivalent of a satyr. Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, who later became Pope Urban VIII, installed the marble at Palazzo Barberini.