CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE VENUS
CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
The goddess depicted standing with her weight on her left leg, the right relaxed and slightly bent at the knee, a voluminous diaphanous chiton enveloping her sensuous body, revealing a slightly protruding belly, her left breast exposed, with drapery falling over the crook of her bent left arm, her right arm originally raised
18 1/8 in. (46 cm.) high

Provenance

Private Collection, New York, Boston & Texas, acquired prior to 1992; thence by descent to the current owner.

Brought to you by

G. Max Bernheimer

mbernheimer@christies.com +1 212 636 2247

Lot Essay

This figure is a variation of the Aphrodite Frejus or Venus Genetrix type. Based on a late 5th century B.C. Greek prototype, it was further popularized in the Julio-Claudian Period, as Julius Caesar and his successors sought to identify the goddess as progenitor of their family. Claiming direct descent from the goddess and Aeneas, Caesar built a temple to Venus Genetrix in his forum in Rome in 45 B.C. For a similar example see no. 242, in A. Delivorrias, et al., "Aphrodite" in LIMC, vol II.

More from Antiquities

View All