The original work is made of bronze and was created by Praxiteles in the 1st century AD. Eros was the god of love, son of the goddess Aphrodite, and was often depicted as a thoughtful, winged young man equipped with a bow. The statue from which this bust is derived is a work of Eros discovered in Rome in 1770 in Centocelle. Today, it is housed in the Busts and Statues room of the Vatican Museums in Rome.