Endymion
ca. 1760–70
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Height: 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
Spanish, Madrid (Buen Retiro)
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Hans Syz Collection, Gift of Stephan B. Syz and John D. Syz, 1995
Accession Number
1995.268.347
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, the delicate porcelain figure *Endymion* (ca. 1760–70) from Spain's Real Fabrica deen Retiro captures a serene mythological moment. Crafted in soft-paste porcelain, 9½-inch (24.1 cm) sculpture depicts the shepherd Endymion in eternal slumber, accompanied by his loyal dogs—a nod to the Greek myth where the moon goddess Selene falls in love with him and grants him everlasting youth through sleep. The intimate scale and graceful modeling evoke the Rococo taste for elegant, narrative vignettes. Produced at the royal Buen Retiro factory in Madrid, est...