LOT 0557

Hellenistic Painted Terracotta Figure of Aphrodite

MID 4TH-MID 3RD CENTURY B.C.

8 7/8 in. (493 grams, 22.5 cm high).

Bearing the weight of her body on her left leg, wearing a himation draped over her left and right arms, the right arm bent to grasp a part of the himation that falls behind her, leaving her shoulders uncovered and revealing her naked body; the head turned slightly to the left; the hair arranged in the typical flattering melon coiffure, parted into six large sections and gathered into a low bun; oval face with a small, fleshy mouth and a fine nose; wearing large circular earrings; her right hand resting on top of a small pillar, covered by the cloak; the lower part of the himation embroidered with volutes; the back flat with a square hole for attachment; red-brown pigment on the hair, white coating, traces of pink on the himation and red on the edges of the feet.

Collected in the 1950s-1990s.
Ex R. Liechti collection (1934-2010), acquired in Geneva (Inventory No. R.788).

Accompanied by an academic report by Raffaele D'Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11999-211931.

Cf. Reinach, S., Repertoire de la statuarie grecque et romaine, Paris, 1930, pp.334ff., and especially no.7 of p.334; Chesterman, J., Classical Terracotta Figures, New York, 1974; Ferruzza, M.L., Ancient Terracottas from South Italy and Sicily in the J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2016, no.25.

In particular in South Italy, two types of female statuettes leaning on small pillars were widespread, derived from Tanagra prototypes: the first type dressed in a high-belted chiton with crowned head, the second consisting of partially draped or nude female figures identified as Aphrodite, like our specimen. The Tanagra production ended in about 200 B.C., but the models created by the Boeotian workshops would continue to be produced until the end of the 1st century B.C. The statuette shows extensive traces of the original polychromy, characterised by strongly contrasting hues in keeping with the local style. The Tanagrine elements are mainly identifiable in the ‘melon coiffure’, the intense red colour of the hair and the pose characterised by the turned hip.