LOT 0121

Large Roman Bronze Statue of Venus

1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

10 3/4 in. (996 grams, 27.3 cm).

Modelled in the round, the goddess standing nude on a socle base and holding a frond in her extended left hand; right hand with thumb and forefinger extended; crown of oak leaves encompassing her chignon.

with Sotheby's, New York, 7 December 1973, no.78.
Private collection, London.

Accompanied by copies of the relevant Sotheby's catalogue pages.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12819-241350.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

See Reinach, S., Repertoire de la statuarie grecque et romaine, Paris, 1930, p.342 no.7, for a similar statuette.

The Venus Anadyomene shows the birth of the Goddess of Love, conceived in the womb of the sea after the Titan Chronos castrated his father, Uranus, and cast his genitals into the water. Venus was born from the sea, fully grown. In ancient tradition, Aphrodite had her great sanctuary at Paphos, because it was here that she was thought to have risen from the water. Apelles, the great painter, was said to have painted the original, creating the prototype then imitated in paintings, sculptures, and across Graeco-Roman iconography. However, his work is now lost, and from the late 2nd century/early first century B.C. until the late antique period, the Anadyomene appeared in nearly every format imaginable. Like many other naked Aphrodites, the Anadyomene was not posed to conceal the body, but was naked and unashamed, exposing the goddess’ body to the gaze of the viewer.