Head of Aphrodite
- Title:
- Head of Aphrodite
- Collection:
- Cornell Cast Collection
- Creator:
- Gipsformerei (German repository, Berlin, contemporary) (reproduction)
Unknown (original)
- Photographer:
- Mericle, Danielle
- Date:
- ca. 1890-1900
mid 2nd c. BCE
2009 (image)
- Site:
- Berlin, Germany (reproduction)
Olympia, Greece (discovery site, Leonidaion) (original) - Location:
- Goldwin Smith Hall basement (Room G 48, Dendro Lab), Cornell University
Berlin, Germany (reproduction)
Olympia, Greece (discovery site, Leonidaion) (original) - ID Number:
- CCC_0650
- Accession Number:
- Sage no. 254
1898 (incised in back--Gipsformerei cast number)
642 - File Name:
- CCC_0650.tif
- Original Measurements:
- 15.5 (H) x 8.4 (W) cm
- Culture:
- Greek
- Style/Period:
- Late Hellenistic
- Work Type:
- casts (sculpture)
- Materials/Techniques:
- plaster cast (sculpture)
marble sculpture in the round (original) - Subject:
- Aphrodite (Greek deity)
- Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 16 (without pedestal) x 11.5 x 10.5 (centimeters, height x width x diameter)
pedestal: 7 (centimeters, height) - Description:
- This is a cast of an under life-size head of Aphrodite from Olympia that is housed in the museum there. The goddess turns and tilts her head to her left and twists her neck to look upward. Her wavy hair is parted in the middle and pulled back. She has a round face, thick-lidded eyes, and full, slightly parted lips. The nose is mostly missing in the original. Aphrodite's expression is calm. The original is battered, particularly around the eyes, nose, and lips. The original head is broken away from its body at the neck and the back of the head has been chiseled or cut away at an angle. In many aspects the head is similar to that of Praxiteles' Aphrodite of Knidos, particularly in its serene expression and hairstyle.
- Notes:
- Items in the Cornell Cast Collection are meant for inventory and reference purposes. Metadata may not be complete in all cases.
no. L 98 - Bibliography:
- Alfred Mallwitz and Hans-Volkmar Herrmann, Die Funde Aus Olympia. Ergebnisse hundertjähriger Ausgrabungstätigkeit (Athens: Verlag S. Kasas, 1980), 198-199, pl. 139
Gipsformerei, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Katalog der Originalabgüsse, Heft 4, Griechenland und Rom: Freiplastik, pl. 91, no. 1898 - Repository:
- Cornell University (current)
Olympia, Archaeological Museum (original) - Collecting Program:
- Cornell Collections of Antiquities
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- The images in the Cornell Collection of Antiquities: Casts are protected by copyright, and the copyright holders are their creators, generally Cornell University Library, Annetta Alexandridis, and Verity Platt. This collection of plaster casts owned by Cornell University was photographed by Cornell University Library, Alexandridis, Platt, and Andreya L. Mihaloew from 2010-2015, with funding from a Digital Collections in Arts and Sciences Grant to Annetta Alexandridis. Cornell is providing access to the materials for research and personal use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Please contact Annetta Alexandridis and Verity Platt for more information about this collection, or to request permission to use these images.