Roman Gilt Bronze Aphrodite

An ancient Roman gilt bronze statuette of Aphrodite) (venus), the goddess is depicted fully nude, standing with her weight on her left leg, her right bent at the knee, her right arm extended, holding an attribute in her clenched fist, her left bent and folded towards her body, her head turned to her right, gazing downward, with almond-shaped eyes and incised pupils, her wavy hair center parted and pulled back in a chignon at the nape of her neck surmounted by a patterned crescentic diadem; with significant remains of gilding.

Ca. 1st - 2nd century AD.

Overall height: 11 1/4 in. (28.5 cm).

Aphrodite (Latin: Venus) was the Greek goddess of sexual love and beauty. She was also known as Cypris and Cytherea after the two places, Cyprus and Cythera, where she was said to have originated. Hephaestus was her husband, the child Eros her companion, and Ares one of her lovers. The dove, the sparrow, and the swan were the animals sacred to her. In Rome, Julius Caesar and his successors claimed family descent from the Venus and the hero Aeneas. She was venerated as the mother of the Roman people as Venus Genetrix in the Roman Forum. Her image was ultimately derived from the work of the Greek sculptor Callimachus, ca. 420 BC

Formerly in an American private collection, acquired prior to 1973.

Inv#: 8151

Guaranteed Authentic

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