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Torso of Aphrodite (Capitoline type)
Roman
Imperial Period
2nd century A.D.
Place of Manufacture: Italy, Lazio
Medium/Technique
Marble probably from the Greek island of Paros
Dimensions
Overall (Figure with steel pallet base): 152.4 x 43.3 x 30.2 cm (60 x 17 1/16 x 11 7/8 in.)
Mount (Steel pedestal): 15.2 x 57.2 x 55.9 cm (6 x 22 1/2 x 22 in.)
Weight (With steel pallet base): 196.86 kg (434 lb.)
Framed (Steel pedestal): 66 x 57.2 x 55.9 cm, 41.28 kg (26 x 22 1/2 x 22 in., 91 lb.)
Other (Wooden skirt): 82.6 x 63.8 x 62.9 cm (32 1/2 x 25 1/8 x 24 3/4 in.)
Mount (Steel pedestal): 15.2 x 57.2 x 55.9 cm (6 x 22 1/2 x 22 in.)
Weight (With steel pallet base): 196.86 kg (434 lb.)
Framed (Steel pedestal): 66 x 57.2 x 55.9 cm, 41.28 kg (26 x 22 1/2 x 22 in., 91 lb.)
Other (Wooden skirt): 82.6 x 63.8 x 62.9 cm (32 1/2 x 25 1/8 x 24 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Henry Lillie Pierce Fund
Accession Number99.350
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 166; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 111 (additional published references).
DescriptionThe modern portions of the body have been removed, except for plaster filling some holes in the surface.
The statue was broken, restored, and then "de-restored," and now includes the body, a part of the left upper arm, the left leg to below the knee, with a piece of the dolphin's tail attached to it, and part of the right thigh.
Scientific Analysis:
Marble has been scientifically tested with X-Ray Diffraction and determined to be Calcitic.
Harvard Lab No. HI092: Isotope ratios - delta13C +1.80 / delta18O -3.66, Attribution - Probably Paros 2, Justification - white, coarse-grained marble.
Label text:
This Aphrodite exists in many replicas the best known of which is in the Capitoline Museum in Rome. She is a derivative of Praxiteles' Aphrodite of Knidos, the most famous female nude of antiquity. She covers her nakedness more fully than the Knidian Aphrodite and has a fuller figure and looser, longer hair. The Capitoline type has been variously dated within the Hellenistic period, either early, because of her resemblance to the Knidian, or in the second century because of her baroque voluptuousness.
The statue was broken, restored, and then "de-restored," and now includes the body, a part of the left upper arm, the left leg to below the knee, with a piece of the dolphin's tail attached to it, and part of the right thigh.
Scientific Analysis:
Marble has been scientifically tested with X-Ray Diffraction and determined to be Calcitic.
Harvard Lab No. HI092: Isotope ratios - delta13C +1.80 / delta18O -3.66, Attribution - Probably Paros 2, Justification - white, coarse-grained marble.
Label text:
This Aphrodite exists in many replicas the best known of which is in the Capitoline Museum in Rome. She is a derivative of Praxiteles' Aphrodite of Knidos, the most famous female nude of antiquity. She covers her nakedness more fully than the Knidian Aphrodite and has a fuller figure and looser, longer hair. The Capitoline type has been variously dated within the Hellenistic period, either early, because of her resemblance to the Knidian, or in the second century because of her baroque voluptuousness.
ProvenanceFound at Gabii. By 1842, Palazzo Valentini, Rome [see note 1]. By 1899, Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 - d. 1928), London; 1899, sold by Edward Perry Warren to the MFA [see note 2]. (Accession date: December 24, 1899)
NOTES:
[1] Mentioned by Ernest Platner et al., Beschreibung der Stadt Rom, vol. 3 (Stuttgart and Tübingen, 1842), p. 156, among the antiquities at the Palazzo Valentini that had been found at Gabii. It was still described as being at the Palazzo Valentini by Friedrich Matz, Antike Bildwerke in Rom, vol. 1 (Leipzig, 1881), p. 200, no. 755. Vincenzo Valentini bought the Palazzo in 1827, and in 1873 it was acquired by the Province of Rome.
[2] MFA accession nos. 99.338 - 99.542 were purchased together for $32,500.
NOTES:
[1] Mentioned by Ernest Platner et al., Beschreibung der Stadt Rom, vol. 3 (Stuttgart and Tübingen, 1842), p. 156, among the antiquities at the Palazzo Valentini that had been found at Gabii. It was still described as being at the Palazzo Valentini by Friedrich Matz, Antike Bildwerke in Rom, vol. 1 (Leipzig, 1881), p. 200, no. 755. Vincenzo Valentini bought the Palazzo in 1827, and in 1873 it was acquired by the Province of Rome.
[2] MFA accession nos. 99.338 - 99.542 were purchased together for $32,500.