Roman Bone Relief Fragment - Reclining Nude Goddess

Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A lovely relief fragment depicting a nude female, skillfully carved from bovine bone. She leans against the scrolled back of a chair or bed, with her weight supported by her arm which is bent at the elbow, and her torso presented in composite profile so that both breasts are visible. Her face displays delicate features framed by the curly fringe of an updo. Perhaps she represents Venus (Greek Aphrodite) - the Olympian goddess of beauty, love, pleasure, sexual rapture, and fertility. Size: 2.25" W x 2.25" H (5.7 cm x 5.7 cm); 3" H (7.6 cm) on included custom stand.

Venus/Aphrodite has inspired countless depictions throughout art history, among the most famous, Attic sculptor Praxiteles's "Aphrodite of Knidos" (ca. 360 to 330 BCE), the equally famous "Lely's Venus" (ca. 100 to 199 CE), and Alexandros of Antioch's "Venus de Milo" ( 130 to 100 BCE). This adoration of the goddess would be revisited during the Renaissance and Baroque periods with paintings such as Sandro Botticelli's masterful "Birth of Venus" (1484-86), Renaissance master Titian's "Venus with a Mirror" (1555 CE), and Baroque artist Peter Paul Rubens' equally masterful "Judgement of Paris" (ca. 1636).

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection

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#147847
Condition Report: A fragment as shown. Upper section reattached. Otherwise bone shows expected desiccation, and the reddish hue is likely due to exposure to iron-rich soil.