Torso of Aphrodite
Date: possibly 18th or 19th century, after Hellenistic and Roman statues of the 2nd century B.C.-2nd century A.D.
Medium: Marble
Dimensions:
18 1/16 × 9 5/8 × 6 3/4 in. (45.9 × 24.4 × 17.2 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.
Object number: 86.134.15
Provenance: Norman Forbes-Robertson (1858-1932), by 1904; George Charles Montagu (1874-1962), 9th earl of Sandwich, Hinchingbrooke House, Huntingdonshire, by 1957; sold by K. J. Hewett, London, to Mathias Komor (1909-1984), New York, 1962; sold by Mathias Komor to Gilbert M. Denman, Jr. (1921-2004), San Antonio, 1963; Gilbert M. Denman, Jr., by gift to the San Antonio Museum of Art, 1986
Published References
E. Strong, Exhibition of Ancient Greek Art (London: Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1904), 25, no. 34, pl. 31.
S. Reinach, Repertoire de la statuaire grecque IV (1910), 226, no. 6.
G. C. Montagu, Catalogue of the Paintings, Sculpture, Pottery, Porcelain, Glass and Objets d'art in the Collection of the Earl of Sandwich, Hinchingbrooke, Huntingdon (unpublished ms., 1957), 29, no. 1.
J. Powers, "Provenance Research and the Ancient Mediterranean Collection in the San Antonio Museum of Art," in J. N. Hopkins, S. K. Costello & P. R. Davis, eds., Object Biographies: Collaborative Approaches to Ancient Mediterranean Art (Houston and New Haven: The Menil Collection and Yale University Press, 2021), 197-200, figs. 9.7-8.
Label Text
This female torso gives the appearance of having belonged to a statue of the goddess Aphrodite wringing out her hair, like a more complete statue now in the Vatican Museums. This pose, known as “Anadyomene” in Greek, refers to Aphrodite’s birth from sea foam and was especially popular for statuettes that decorated Roman gardens. The torso’s
awkward proportions and the deliberate chisel marks on the “breaks” in her arms may reflect reworking of an ancient statue by an 18th century restorer—or they may reveal the
hand of a forger attempting to make a new statue look ancient. (J. Powers, 2012)
awkward proportions and the deliberate chisel marks on the “breaks” in her arms may reflect reworking of an ancient statue by an 18th century restorer—or they may reveal the
hand of a forger attempting to make a new statue look ancient. (J. Powers, 2012)
On view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
