Large Bronze Statuette of Venus

Culture: Roman

Period: 2nd century A.D.

Material: Bronze

Dimensions: 38.2 cm high

Price: 40 000 Euro

Ref: 3664

Provenance: From the old Belgian collection Dubois. Thence in the collection of the Belgian artist Paul Delvaux (1897-1994). In 2012 with Akanthos Ancient Art in Antwerp, Netherlands. There acquired by the French collection Gilles Grimm. On 19 December 2018 with Aguttes Paris, lot 351. Last with Bonhams auction London on 7 October 2021, lot 36. Accompanied by a French antiquities passport.

Condition: Unrestored. The separately worked out head and arms missing. A small hole on the right side. Otherwise wonderfully preserved and of impressive size.

Description: Magnificently worked out body of a very large bronze statue of Venus with separately worked out head and arms. The roundish body with fine proportions. The goddess stands with her weight on her left leg, the right one is slightly bent, the foot elegantly slightly set back. She wears an opulent necklace with pendants around her neck and in the nape. Two long curly strands cascade on the sides to her shoulder. On the upper arms bangles. The bronze statue originates from the eastern part of the Roman Empire and represents an orientalised Venus, where reminiscences of the Egyptian main goddess Isis can be found. See for the type a very similar statue, where also the arms and head are separately worked out, in the Walters Art Museum with the Accession Number 54.949. Mounted.