Statuette of Aphrodite

A statue of a female goddess, identified as Aphrodite because of the dolphin by her left slightly bent leg. The goddess stands in a frontal pose, her head slightly tilts down and to the left. Her right arm is on her projecting right hip, the weight of her body is on her right. The left leg is bent with the foot arched.The upper part of her body is naked with a loose mantle, around her hips and legs. The drapery has some dramatic folds below the left arm and foot but its overall arrangement around the body is less convincing. Her oval face lacks any distinct features, the eyes are open and flat and the mouth is very small. She wears a diadem on her head, an indication of her divine status. She has a puntello on her right shoulder, probably used to attach the veil. She also wears a snake bracelet high on her left upper arm. The statue may be based on the type, discussed by Pausanias and known as 'Euploia' for the marine attributes shown. Scholars have attributed the original to either Praxiteles, Lysippos or an unknown Hellenistic master. The statue is more likely a Roman copy of an original of about 340 BC. The Roman examples of this type would have been used in a bath or a gymnasium context. There are traces of water use around the dolphin's mouth.