Tanagra Statuette of Aphrodite in the Getty Villa, July 2008

Statuette of Aphrodite
Greek, made in Tanagra, 250-200 BC
Terracotta and pigment

Inventory # 55.AD.7

Wearing a crown of leaves and flowers, Aphrodite leans on a pillar. She holds out her left hand, which probably once held either a dove (one of her attributes) or an offering bowl. The goddess of erotic love is aptly depicted here as a seductive figure- her pose and the cloak draped low on her hips emphasize her shapely torso.

Text from the Getty Villa museum label.