LOT 0151

Roman Marble Head of Venus, the Goddess of Love

1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

8 in. (2.5 kg total, 20.5 cm high including stand).

Modelled in the round as the head of Venus-Aphrodite with her hair dressed in a chignon at the nape of the neck and the tails swept and tied above the brow; the hair sculpted in deep undercuts and openwork, the face with heavy-lidded eyes evoking innocence and a soft serenity; mounted on a custom-made stand.

From the collection of Doctor C, Paris, formed 1970s.
Millon & Associes, 1st June 2011, no.400.

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 no.13435-262426.

Various, Lines of Enquiry, Lyndsey Ingram, London, 17 September-8th November 2019, p.44-45.

Cf. Brunn, H., Bruckmann, Fr., Denkmäler griechischer und römischer Skulptur, Munich, 1888, pl. CCCLXXI; Amelung, W., Die Skulpturen des Vatikanischen Museums, II, Berlin, 1903, pl.LXXVI; Paribeni, R., Il Museo Nazionale Romano delle Terme, Roma, 1932, p.211, no.557; Mansuelli, G.A., Galleria degli Uffizi, Le Sculture, I, Roma, 1958, no.45, fig.45; Scrinari, V.S.M., Sculture Romane di Aquileia, Roma, 1972, cat. 135-138, pp.48-49; for a similar hairstyle, see also the replica of the Medici Aphrodite in the MET, inventory no. 52.11.5.

The earlobes show perforations, likely for attaching earrings made of gold or another precious material.