A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF VENUS

CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF VENUS
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.
The goddess depicted slightly under-lifesized, with youthful idealizing features, her head inclined to her left, on a long slender neck, her oval face tapering to her dimpled chin, her bow-shaped lips parted, her small almond-shaped eyes with the inner canthi articulated, and framed by thick lids, the delicately-modelled brows arching gracefully and merging with the bridge of her nose, her forehead peaked at the center, her luscious wavy hair center parted, rolled back over her ears, bound in a fillet, and tied in a chignon at the nape of her neck, a voluminous curling lock falling below, with thick tresses pulled up over the crown of her head and fastened in a top-knot
10¼ in. (26 cm.) high

Provenance

Private Collection, Bordeaux, acquired prior to the 1940s.

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

The position of the goddess' head, the downward gaze, and fashion of the hairstyle find close similarity to the Capitoline Venus, which is based on the 4th century B.C. prototype by Praxiteles. As the goddess of love and sexuality, Aphrodite was always portrayed as the essence of beauty. Her aesthetic perfection is reflected here in the goddess' idealized face, graceful neck and sensuously tactile hair. The present example can be compared to two heads of the goddess that were originally set into draped statues: one in the Glyptothek in Munich, dated to 300-290 B.C. (R. Wünsche, Glyptothek München: Meisterwerke Griechischer und Römischer Skulptur, p. 85); and the Leconfield Aphrodite, dated to the 4th century B.C. (A. Stewart, Greek Sculpture: An Exploration, pl. 500, pp. 178-179).

More from Antiquities

View All