Silenus and the Infant Dionysus, marble. Silenus was a companion and teacher of the wine god Dionysus. This is a replica of the marble sculpture Silenus with the Infant Dionysus in the Louvre, which in turn is believed to be a Roman copy of a bronze original by Lysippus or one of his followers.

The sculpture was discovered by Carlo Muti before 1569 on his land near the current Cassino Massimo, and remained in Muti’s collection for many years. In 1613, however, it was in the Borghese family’s collection. It was located in Villa Borghese in 1638, where it occupied a room named after it in 1650.

The sculpture was one of the most admired sculptures in Rome. It
was often reproduced together with Venus de’ Medici and the Farnese Hercules. Marble copies were made for Philip IV of Spain in 1650 and Versailles in 1684. Castings and copies continued to be popular during the 18th and 19th centuries. The sculpture was bought by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807 together with many of the
Borghese antiques and was in the Musée Napoléon in 1811. In 1815, the statue had again been given a room named after itself in its new surroundings.