SculptureRoman1st-3rd century CE

Statuette of Aphrodite

1st-3rd century CE

Description

Bone statuette of a draped woman, probably the goddess Venus (Aphrodite). She stands with her weight on her right leg, and her left leg slightly forward. Her hair is pulled back, and she wears a diadem. Details of the face are rendered naturalistically. She wears a gauzy garment (chiton), loose around the bust, leaving her left breast exposed. The garment is form-fittingly tight around her pelvis so that her navel is visible through the fabric. She has a mantle, wrapped loosely around her right leg, over her left shoulder, which she draws up further with her right arm. Some minor chipping, particularly at the bottom and around the right hand, which is missing.

Classification

Sculpture

Technique

Carved

Medium

Bone

Culture

Roman

Period

Roman Imperial period

Century

1st-3rd century CE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics

Dimensions

10.7 cm (4 3/16 in.)

Provenance

Estate of Michel Abemayor (1912-1975), New York, sold; through [Sotheby Parke Bernet, Sale 3934 (December 11, 1976) Lot 95]; to [Robert J. Myers, New York, 1976-1977], sold; to The Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University (1977-2012), transfer; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2012.