Harvard Art Museums > 2012.1.127: Statuette of Aphrodite Sculpture Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Statuette of Aphrodite , 2012.1.127,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 16, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/191799. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2012.1.127 Title Statuette of Aphrodite Classification Sculpture Work Type statuette, sculpture 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 The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. 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
