Aphrodite of Capua

Semi-draped goddess. The broken base of the original extends to the right so we can guess that this Aphrodite was part of a larger group. She has her foot on a military helmet so Ares the god of war is a likely figure to accompany her. On contemporary coins Aphrodite is sometimes shown looking at her reflection in his polished shield.

This cast is of a copy, probably of a bronze Greek original, made in Roman times to decorate the amphitheatre in Capua north of Naples, where it was found. The arms, part of the drapery and the nose are early nineteenth century restorations

Number

329

Material

Marble

Location of Original

Naples, National Museum 251

Size

2.10m

Accession

Gift of Professor Humphry in 1884

References

Lippold: Griechische Plastik, 284 (n.1), pl. 101.3
Brunn-Bruckmann: Denkmäler Griechischer und Römischer Skulptur, pl. 297
Walston: Catalogue of Casts in the Museum of Classical Archaeology (1889), 106, no.558
cf. Lippold: pl. 136, no.24 for the motif of Aphrodite admiring herself in a shield on coins of Corinth
Reporter: 19 June 1885, 894, no.495

Date

Roman. Original: C4 BCE

Provenance

Found about 1750 in the amphitheatre of Capua

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