Greek, A large Greek terracotta figure of Aphrodite, Hellenistic, circa 3rd - 1st century BC

Greek

A large Greek terracotta figure of Aphrodite, Hellenistic, circa 3rd - 1st century BC

Terracotta

Height: 31 cm

Depicted wearing a chiton, standing with her weight on her right leg, reaching to remove her sandal from her raised left foot, left arm raised, preserving some white slip and...

Provenance

With Spink and Son, London, 31 July 1957
Private collection, London, acquired from the above
Sotheby’s, London, 8 December 1994, lot 204

Literature

This representation of Aphrodite reaching for her sandal was popular throughout the Hellenistic and Graeco-Roman world, and was a favoured votive offering in sanctuaries of Aphrodite across the Mediterranean. This pose of the goddess tying or untying her sandal was recreated in a variety of different media including coins, and perhaps most famously in marble. It is relatively rare to find the goddess still draped as most surviving marble representations capture Aphrodite nude, removing the last item of clothing before bathing. For a similar but seated, draped example of a young woman, see The Harvard Art Museums, acc. no. 1935.35.32.

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