Inv.-Nr. 248

Büste der Aphrodite (sog. Kapitolinische Venus)

Rom, Kapitolinische Museen 409
Römische Kopie aus der Mitte des 2. Jh. n. Chr. nach einer hellenistischen Umbildung der Aphrodite von Knidos des Praxiteles aus dem 4. Jh. v. Chr.

Ancient Greek and Roman deities can often be recognised by characteristic elements of their costume or dress. From the 4th century BCE onwards, Aphrodite was often represented naked, but she is often recognisable by this characteristic ‘knot’ hairstyle. In this hairstyle, most or all of the hair is piled high on the top of the head, and twisted into a central knot two larger bunches on either side. It is a hairstyle that is sometimes also used for Apollo. Modern attempts to reconstruct this hairstyle have found that it is easiest to achieve with tightly curled hair.The statue on which is cast is based is from a class of statues known as the Capitoline Venus type, after the best known example of the class held in the Capitoline Museum in Rome. It depicts a standing naked Aphrodite, shielding her breasts and pubic area. There are many variations of this statue type, all supposedly based on the same original statue, the Aphrodite of Knidos, made by the famous sculptor Praxiteles in the fourth century BCE.