Statuette of a Goddess with a Diadem

Place of OriginSyria or Lebanon

DateLate 2nd or early 3rd century CE

Dimensions9 5/8 × 3 13/16 in. (24.4 × 9.7 cm)

MediumCast and repoussé silver with gold necklace and bracelets.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1971.131

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

Collections

Sculpture

Published ReferencesDe Ridder, Alfred H.P., Collection De Clercq, Catalogue, III, Les Bronzes, Paris, 1905, pp. 201-202, pl. XLVI, no. 291.

Reinach, Salomon, Répertoire de la Statuaire Grecque et Romaine, Paris, 1913, vol. IV, p. 408, no. 5.

"Recent Accessions...," Art Quarterly, vol. 35, no. 4, 1972, p. 435, repr. p. 444, fig. 3, top.

Vermeule, Cornelius, Greek and Roman Sculpture in Gold and Silver, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1974, p. 23 f., no. 75.

McNiven, Timothy, "The Toledo Statuette," unpublished paper for the Master's Degree requirements at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1975.

"Treasures for Toledo," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 19, nos. 2, 3, 1976, p. 50, repr.

Oliver, Andrew Jr., Silver for the Gods, 800 Years of Greek and Roman Silver, Toledo Museum of Art, 1977, p. 157, no. 103.

"Silver for the Gods," Motor Travel (AAA), Oct. 1977, p. 3.

Luckner, Kurt T., "A silver goddess," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 20, no. 2, 1978, pp. 56-62, repr. fig. 1, 2, 3.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 89, repr. (col.).

Exhibition HistoryToledo, The Toledo Museum of Art, Silver for the Gods: 800 Years of Greek and Roman Silver, 1977.

Worcester, Worcester Art Museum; Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art; Baltimore, Baltimore Museum of Art, Antioch: the lost ancient city, 2000-2001, no. 89, p. 204, repr. (col.).

Comparative ReferencesSee also Le Rider, G. and H. Seyrig, "Objets de la Collection Louis De Clercq," Revue Numismatique, series VI, tome IX, Paris, 1968, p. 7 ff.

See also Parrot, André et al., "La Donation L. De Clercq - H. de Boisgelin," La Revue du Louvre, nos. 4-5, 1968, pp. 299-343.

See also Lamb, Winifred, Ancient Greek and Roman Bronzes, Chicago, 1969, p. 227 (comment on the dates of bronzes in the De Clercq collection).

Label TextThis hollow-cast silver statuette is one of the largest ancient Roman devotional figures to survive in precious metal. The diadem suggests the woman is a goddess, possibly Juno, Fortuna, or Venus, although she has lost the attributes that would have identified her. Her lowered left arm may have supported a ship’s rudder, palm branch, or cornucopia. Her head is turned to contemplate her cupped right hand, where the fingers curl to hold a small object, probably fruit. The owner of the figure likely added the gold jewelry as offerings of gratitude. If you look closely, you can see that her bracelets are decorated, probably by twisting the gold wire. The silver statuette of a goddess originally formed part of the renowned collection of Louis De Clercq (1836–1901), a French diplomat, who acquired it during his extensive travels in the Eastern Mediterranean, specifically in Syria or Lebanon, in the mid-19th century.