A Roman Marble Head of Venus (Capitoline Type)

Circa 1st Century B.C.-1st Century A.D.

Height 11 inches (28 cm).

Property from a New York Private Collection

Provenance:

Private Collection, Chicago, prior to 1996.

Harlan J. Berk Ltd., 90th Buy or Bid Sale, 17 April 1996, lot 551.

Galerie Cahn, Basel, Switzerland, 2016-2020. [Inv. no. L-13575]

(Art Loss Register no. S00116086)

Exhibited:

The European Fine Art Fair, Maastricht, 7-15 March 2020.

Appropriately for the ancient goddess of love and sensuality, one of the first statues of a nude woman in the Greek world was the Aphrodite from Knidos by the 4th century B.C. master-sculptor Praxiteles. Considered a shocking innovation at the time, the goddess was shown stepping out of the bath, coquettishly covering (as well as drawing attention to) her beautiful, bared body. The format was widely copied in the following centuries. Of the numerous Roman variations known, the so-called “Capitoline” type is thought to be the most faithful to the Greek original. Inclined slightly downwards and to the left, this head surely belonged to a full-length statue of that type. The languorous eyelids, slightly parted lips, and wavy locks piled upon the head all speak to a Roman treatment of the subject of the highest quality, perhaps once intended for a lavish garden setting.

Inspected under UV light and 10x loupe. Overall red/orange patina with areas of dark gray particularly on top. Some areas heavily weathered and notable gouge below chin. Some chips and scratches. Some areas professionally restored including nose. Head rests on stand to which it is not affixed. Overall in fine and attractive condition. See additional images.

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Jacob Coley

Senior Vice President, Head of Department, Antiquities and Ancient Art

[email protected]312 280 1212

Mr. Coley joined the Antiquities department in 2021 after working as Managing Director in the Ancient Art department at Colnaghi, the world’s oldest commercial art gallery, where he helped to establish the Ancient Art department and launched Colnaghi New York in 2017. Prior to Colnaghi, Mr. Coley was in the Greek and Roman Art department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mr. Coley holds a B.A. from the University of Miami and an M.A. in Art Market from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and he earned an art-appraisal certificate from New York University.

Antiquities & Ancient Art

A Roman Marble Head of Venus (Capitoline Type)

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