Image

Gray metal sculpture with a green patina of a crowned nude woman standing on a circular pedestal, one arm down, grasping an object, and the other curled towards her shoulder.
Back view of a tarnished bronze statue of a standing nude woman, her arms away from her body. The lighting amplifies the texture of the statue’s surface.
Side view of a tarnished bronze statue of a standing crowned nude woman with one arm bent towards her shoulder and the other held out, standing on a circular pedestal.
Detail view of a bronze statue of a nude woman at an angle. Visible are the details of her face, hair and clenched fist curled towards her shoulder.
Detail view of a bronze statue of a nude woman at an angle. Visible are the details of her face, hair and clenched fist curled towards her shoulder.
Detail view of a bronze statue of a crowned nude woman at an angle. Visible are the details of her face, hair and clenched fist curled towards her shoulder.
Detail view of a bronze statue of a crowned nude woman at an angle. Visible are the details of her face, hair and clenched fist curled towards her shoulder.
Detail view of a gray bronze statue of a crowned nude woman. Visible are the details of her face, hair and clenched fist curled towards her shoulder.
Detail view of a bronze statue of a nude woman at an angle. Visible are the details of her face, hair and clenched fist curled towards her shoulder.
Back view of a tarnished bronze statue of a standing nude woman, her arms away from her body, as she emerges from the darkness. The lighting amplifies the texture of the statue’s surface.
Cropped image of a gray metal sculpture with a green patina of a standing crowned nude woman, one arm down, grasping an object, and the other curled towards her shoulder.
Detail of a bronze statue of a nude woman. Visible are the details of her face, hair and fist curled towards her shoulder as she looks slightly downwards.
Cropped image of a gray metal sculpture with a green patina of a standing crowned nude woman, one arm down, grasping an object, and the other curled towards her shoulder.
Detail view of a gray bronze statue of a crowned nude woman. Visible are the details of her face, hair and clenched fist curled towards her shoulder.
Back view of a tarnished bronze statue of a standing nude woman, her arms away from her body, as she emerges from the darkness. The lighting amplifies the texture of the statue’s surface.
Cropped image of a gray metal sculpture with a green patina of a standing crowned nude woman, one arm down, grasping an object, and the other curled towards her shoulder.
A tarnished bronze statue of a standing nude woman gripping an object in one hand and curling her arm towards her shoulder, looking slightly downwards.
Back view of a tarnished bronze statue of a nude woman with her arm curled towards her shoulder. The lighting amplifies the texture of the statue’s surface.
Close-up of a gray metal sculpture with a green patina, of a crowned woman looking to one side with one arm curled towards her shoulder. The photo is cropped mid-torso.
Close-up of a gray metal sculpture with a green patina, of a crowned woman looking to one side with one arm curled towards her shoulder. The photo is cropped mid-torso.
Gray metal sculpture cropped at the torso, with a green patina of a standing crowned nude woman, one arm down, grasping an object, and the other curled towards her shoulder.
Back view of a tarnished bronze statue of a standing crowned nude woman with one arm curled towards her shoulder and the other held out, standing on a circular pedestal.
Quarter-view of a tarnished bronze statue of a standing crowned nude woman with one arm bent towards her shoulder and the other held out, standing on a circular pedestal.
Gray metal sculpture with a green patina of a crowned nude woman standing on a circular pedestal, one arm down, grasping an object, and the other curled towards her shoulder.
Gray metal sculpture with a green patina of a crowned nude woman standing on a circular pedestal, one arm down, grasping an object, and the other curled towards her shoulder.
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Unknown Maker, Greek

Aphrodite
Now On View

Description

Maker

Unknown Maker, Greek

Culture

Greek

Title

Aphrodite

Period

Hellenistic

Year

199-100 BCE

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

bronze

Dimensions

Height: 47.3 cm (18 5/8 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund and Special Gift Fund

Object Number

26.117

Type

Projects & Publications

Publications

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries
Sep 22, 2010

Label copy

This bronze figure of Aphrodite, now green from oxidation, once would have been a warm brown. To heighten a sense of naturalism, the eyes and hair ribbon were inlaid with silver and the lips with copper. The left arm, reconstructed from the shoulders down, now shows her holding an apple; it was originally upraised like her right, to adjust a necklace, now missing. The right foot and ankle have also been replaced. These restorations date to the early 19th century.

In the 4th century BCE, the first nude image of Aphrodite was sculpted, breaking a long tradition of depicting Greek goddesses clothed. It was fitting, however, that the goddess of love and beauty was the first to be portrayed in this new way. The motif became so popular that hundreds of such images of Aphrodite survive from ancient Greece and Rome, where they adorned homes, gardens, and sanctuaries. Exceedingly rare today, bronze examples like this one must have been prized possessions of wealthy patrons.

An Exhibition of Classical Antiquities
Sep 01, 1981 – Apr 01, 1982

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Greek
Aphrodite, 199-100 BCE
Bronze
Height: 47.3 cm (18 5/8 inches)
Museum Appropriation Fund and Special Gift Fund 26.117

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