ROMAN MARBLE STATUE OF APHRODITE-LIKE NAIAD (NYMPH) OF A FOUNTAIN OR SPRING

拍品描述

Ca. AD 100 - 200. This half life-size (73 cm) marble statue depicts a semi-nude female figure, sculpted with refined modeling and a meticulously polished surface. The torso, face, and arms are finished to a smooth sheen, while the marble displays a delicate orangish hue, most pronounced in the drapery, hair, headdress, support, and pitcher. She stands in a relaxed, elegant pose, her left leg crossing over the right in a distinctive variation of classical contrapposto. The drapery envelops her lower body at the front and sweeps across the back from the left shoulder to the ground, creating a dynamic interplay between exposed flesh and deeply carved, heavy folds. With her right hand, she gathers the drapery at her hip; her left hand holds a small pitcher resting upon a square support pillar at her side, its mouth turned outward. She wears a curved, crescent-shaped stephane?a headdress linked to both divinities and women of the imperial household. The form closely parallels crowns seen in representations of city goddesses and other idealized female figures from the Roman imperial period. The semi-nude treatment, crossed-leg stance, and presence of a pitcher supported on a pillar identify the figure as a naiad?a freshwater nymph. The highly polished surfaces and emphatically carved, weighty drapery folds align with a second-century A.D. stylistic attribution, when such ?Aphrodite-like? nymph types were especially popular in decorative and fountain settings. For similar see: C. Gasparri, M. A. Tomei, Museo Palatino, Le collezioni, Cat. 110, Sala X; C. Gasparri, A. Coliva, I Borghese e l'antico, cat. 20. Size: 840mm x 460mm; Weight: 40.2kg Provenance: Private collection of an Austrian professional, formed in the 1990s in Vienna. This item has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database and comes with a confirmation letter. This piece comes with an authentication report from Prof. John Pollini, Professor of Classical Art, Archaeology, History, and Classics and USC Associates Endowed Professor in Art History, Department of Art History, University of Southern California, Los Angeles; This piece is accompanied by a historical report from Alessandro Neri, an international Cultural Heritage expert based in Florence, Italy.

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