CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.

Sensuous depictions of the goddess Venus, either nude or in various states of undress, owe their ultimate origin to the Knidian Aphrodite by the Greek sculptor Praxiteles from the 4th century B.C. During the subsequent Hellenistic period and continuing into the Roman period, countless variations were created, some as cult statues, some as villa ornaments, and others bearing the portraits of prominent imperial women who sought to be equated with the goddess. The pose of the Venus in the present example finds close parallel to the 'half-dressed Anadyomene' type, for the goddess is wrapped in a mantle knotted at the lower body. Despite the implication of the epithet, as the goddess "rising from the sea," she is in fact arranging her hair. Both hands are needed, which is why her mantle is knotted in place. For a similar example of the type, see 'Aphrodite' in R. Fleischer, LIMC, vol 2, 1984, no. 669.