Statuette of Venus (Aphrodite)

Place of OriginLikely Italy

Date2nd century CE

DimensionsH: 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm); L: 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm); W: 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm)

MediumBronze

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of the Popplestone Family

Object number

2006.94

Not on View

DescriptionA solid cast bronze statuette depicting a standing female figure resting her weight on her left leg in a contrapposto stance. The figure is nude to the hips; a mantle (himation) is draped low around her buttocks and legs, gathered in a thick roll at the front of the hips and cascading down the left leg. Her right arm is raised, with the hand touching the top of her head near a crested diadem (stephane). Her left arm is lowered at her side; the left hand is missing. The figure stands on a molded, circular, spool-shaped pedestal base. The surface exhibits a dark green and red patina.

Label TextThis bronze figurine depicts the goddess Venus (Greek: Aphrodite) in a moment of adornment, raising her right hand to adjust the diadem (crown) on her head. Modeled in the "semi-nude" type popular in the Roman Imperial period, she wears a heavy mantle draped low around her hips, revealing her torso. Small-scale statues like this were common in Roman households, often placed in a domestic shrine (lararium) to ensure divine favor for the family. The circular spool-base, while ancient, likely did not originally belong to this specific figure.Published ReferencesParke-Bernet Galleries, New York, June 19th, 1968, lot 90.

Sotheby's, New York, Antiquities, June 12, 2003, lot 188 (illus.)