Detail of a Marble Statue of Aphrodite in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2007

Marble statue of Aphrodite
Roman, Imperial Period. 1st or 2nd century AD
Copy of a Greek statue of the 3rd or 2nd century century BC.

The lower legs have been restored with casts taken from the Roman copy in Florence known as the Medici Venus.

Accession # 52.11.5

The goddess of love is shown as though surprised at her bath. Originally, her arms reached forward to shield her breasts in a gesture that both concealed and accentuated her sexuality.

Statues of Aphrodite in the nude proliferated during the Hellenistic period. All were inspired to some degree by the Aphrodite of Knidos.

Text excerpted from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label