Statuette of Aphrodite

This bone statuette likely represents Venus who was the Roman correlative of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Statuettes of Venus are common in Roman domestic cult where she is often depicted nude and at her toilet in compositions derived from earlier Greek versions. In her Roman guise, the goddess also held political connotations as the mother of the Roman state and sometimes appears in a more regal composition, clothed and with accoutrements such as a diadem and scepter (1).

Notes:

1. See a statuette of Venus in the J. Paul Getty Museum, acc. 76.AM.4