Roman Marble head of a goddess, circa 2nd-3rd century AD

Roman, circa 2nd-3rd century AD
Head of a female deity, possibly Venus
Marble, mounted on ebonised wood base
12 cm. / 4 ¾ ins (the head), 21 cm. / 8 ¼ ins overall

PROVENANCE:
Private collection, UK, said to have been with the same family since the early 20th century

The goddess depicted with lightly delineated pupils and irises. Her drilled locks of hair tied at the back in a chignon. The top part of the hair around the crown and the hairband possibly re-carved in the 18th/19th century. Restorations in wax to part of the septum below the nose, her right cheek just below the eye, the front of the centre parting of the hair and a lock on the right front side of her head. Some in-filling to the left side of her nose (bottom and inside bridge), chip at tip of the nose. Minor chips and surface encrustation to the hair. Surface dirt throughout.

This small marble head of a female deity may depict the Roman goddess of love, Venus (Aphrodite to the Greeks). If so, it is likely to be based on the famous statue known as the Aphrodite of Knidos, which was carved by Praxiteles in the 4th century BC and acquired by the citizens of the island of Knidos.

Given its size, it is likely that the present head was part of a small votive statuette or figure group, which would have been set up beside an altar in a domestic setting. For comparable Roman-period works, see the marble head of a goddess wearing a diadem in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (acc. no. 42.201.11), which, like the present head, has heavily drilled locks of hair at the front and flatter carved hair at the back. Another small head of Aphrodite in Paris (Louvre, cat. No. Ma 5063), dated to 200-300 AD, shows similar carving of the eyes, indicating a date for the present head in the later period of the Roman empire.[1]

RELATED LITERATURE:
F. Haskell and N. Penny, 'Taste and the Antique' (New Haven, Yale, 1982), pp. 325-28, fig. 173

[1] For an image, see Louvre Collection website, last accessed 22nd April 2024