Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • Collection
  • Collection Research
  • Past Exhibitions
  • Watch / Listen / Read

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Unknown Maker, Greek

Headless Statue - Adaption of Aphrodite Frejus Type

Maker

Unknown Maker, Greek

Culture

Greek

Title

Headless Statue - Adaption of Aphrodite Frejus Type
Female Figure

Period

Ancient

Year

ca. CE 100

Medium

  • marble

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • marble

Materials

white marble

Geography

Archaeological Site: Asia Minor

Dimensions

95.9 x 37.9 x 22.7 cm (37 3/4 x 14 15/16 x 8 15/16 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

23.351

Type

  • Sculpture

Publications

  • Journal

Rethinking the Romans: New Views of Ancient Sculpture

Exhibition notes ; No. 13. Contributions by: Georgina E. Borromeo, Kent Severson, Mary Hollinshead, Crispin Corrado Goulet. Alt Author: Borromeo, Georgina.

  • Books

Classical Sculpture

Exhibition History

Rethinking the Romans
New Views of Ancient Sculpture
Apr 06, 2001 – Jan 02, 2009

Label copy

The pose and garments of this figure are reminiscent of Venus Genetrix as the goddess appeared on Roman imperial coinage of the second century AD, celebrating her role as “universal mother.” Venus represented virtues beyond simple beauty, those that were highly valued in (and desired for) the proper Roman matron: chastity, piety, modesty, and loyalty. In fact, the type represented by the Providence piece, the Louvre-Naples type, was particularly preferred to represent these virtues.

Both types of Venus were favored for funerary portrait statues, especially in the second and third centuries AD. The Providence piece may be an example of such an honorary portrait, as indicated by the preparation of the neck to receive a fitted head. This use is also suggested by a slight adaptation in the figure’s garment (chiton), which covers the left breast. In the Louvre-Naples prototype, the chiton slips off the shoulder, leaving the breast bared. Especially during the first two centuries AD, non-aristocratic women most often rejected in their private funerary statuary the heroic nudity employed in imperial circles.

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain 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
Headless Statue - Adaption of Aphrodite Frejus Type; Female Figure, ca. CE 100
Marble
95.9 x 37.9 x 22.7 cm (37 3/4 x 14 15/16 x 8 15/16 inches)
Museum Appropriation Fund 23.351

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Main Navigation

  • Visit

    • Hours & Admission
    • Accessibility & Amenities
    • Tours & Group Visits
    • Visitor Guidelines
  • Art & Design

    • Collection Research
    • Collection
    • Past Exhibitions
  • Join / Give

    • Become a Member
    • Give
  • Exhibitions & Events

    • Exhibitions
    • Events
  • Watch / Listen / Read

    • The Latest
    • Publications
    • Articles
    • Audio & Video

Footer Secondary Navigation

  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use
Tickets
Homepage
Go to the risd.edu homepage. This link will open in a new window.