Lot 62
An Italian Marble Bust of Venus (Aphrodite), late 19th c., after the antique, inscribed "Chiurazzi / Napoli" on truncation of right arm, height 26 1/2 in Note: This striking modern bust replicates the so-called "Psyche of Capua", which was excavated in 1726 from the Roman amphitheatre at Capua near Naples, and is now preserved in the Neapolitan Archaeological Museum (no. 5820). It was apparently misnamed, for most scholars now concur that it actually represents Aphrodite (the Roman Venus), whose head is turned sharply downward to contemplate a mirror being held by a small figure of Eros (the Roman Cupid). The ancient original was evidently early Hellenistic, and was first attributed to Praxiteles (though it is now thought more likely to represent the style of Skopas); the version found at Capua is probably Roman, of the first century B.C.E. The bust (which in the original has been reattached to another fragment reaching to the figure's hips) was found in a badly mutilated state, with damages requiring the sheared-off planes of her head. She apparently held her drapery...
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