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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2012.1.127
Title
Statuette of Aphrodite
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, statuette
Date
1st-3rd century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/191799

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bone
Technique
Carved
Dimensions
10.7 cm (4 3/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
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.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University
Accession Year
2012
Object Number
2012.1.127
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

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.


Commentary
This bone statuette likely represents Venus who was the Roman correlative of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Statuettes of Venus are common in Roman domestic cult where she is often depicted nude and at her toilet in compositions derived from earlier Greek versions. In her Roman guise, the goddess also held political connotations as the mother of the Roman state and sometimes appears in a more regal composition, clothed and with accoutrements such as a diadem and scepter (1).

Notes:
1. See a statuette of Venus in the J. Paul Getty Museum, acc. 76.AM.4

Exhibition History

  • Roman Gallery Installation (long-term), Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/16/1999 - 01/20/2008

Subjects and Contexts

  • Roman Domestic Art

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu