Atlanta Art Acquisitions
Saturday November 18, 2006
Carlos Museum Reuniting Aphrodite's Body
and Head; Purchases Lansdowne Altar
by Stan Parchin
On June 6, 2006, Emory University's Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta, Georgia purchased a rare marble Figure of Aphrodite (ca. late 1st Century-early 2nd Century A.D.) at a Sotheby's auction in New York for a reported $968,000.00 (US). This remarkable acquisition was generously supported by Mrs. Michael C. Carlos. The large statue of the Greek goddess of love, called Venus by the Romans, is presently missing its head and right arm. Sculpted in marble by an unknown artist, it's a magnificently preserved Roman Imperial copy of an earlier Greek bronze original.
The Head of a Goddess (ca. late 1st Century-early 2nd Century A.D.) had been sold to a private art collector from Houston, Texas at a 2002 auction. The owner offered the piece for sale to the torso's eventual keeper. The Carlos Museum subsequently purchased the head for an estimated $50,000.00 (US).
Due to the scholarly ingenuity of researchers at Sotheby's, the Head of a Goddess was identified as belonging to the Figure of Aphrodite. The marble torso first appeared with its head attached in a French nineteenth-century print. Nearly complete, the sculpture was previously owned by Napoleon Bonaparte's art advisor. At some point, the statue's head mysteriously became separated from its torso.
Now accomplished conservator Renée Stein, who's teaching at Emory University, has embarked upon the mission of reuniting Aphrodite's head with her body. As reported by the Associated Press on November 3, 2006, Ms. Stein has enlisted the voluntary aid of inspectors from Delta Air Lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, experts at determining aircraft cracks. The specialists use sophisticated x-ray technology to scan objects for damage and assist in recommending methods of repair. A pin in the neck of Head of a Goddess suggests that sometime after its detachment from the sculpture's body, the head was mounted separately on a stand for display. The lead peg in the torso's neck will inevitably be replaced by one made of stainless steel. Stein has decided that the break's original rough edges were eliminated at some point. This dictates use of a material, as yet unspecified, to fill in the remaining spaces when the statue's two pieces are finally reunited and secured.
The nearly completed statue depicts a disrobed Aphrodite in the midst of her bath. Having detected a spectator in the sculpture's imaginary background, the deity's embarrassment is indicated by the goddess' left hand modestly covering her genital area. Immediately below her and to the left is Eros riding a dolphin, a symbolic reference to Aphrodite's mythological marine origins. The restored work is scheduled to make its American debut at the Carlos Museum's Veneralia celebration on April 1, 2007.
In related news, Mrs. Thalia Carlos' financial assistance helped to facilitate the museum's acquisition of the Lansdowne Altar (1st Century B.C.-1st Century A.D.). This Roman monumental sculpture of sound provenance was available for purchase in Maasstricht, the Netherlands at the European Fine Art Fair (March 10-19, 2006). Three relief panels decorate the exterior of the nearly four-foot-tall circular altar, probably carved during the reign of Emperor Augustus (63 B.C.-14 A.D.). In one section, branches of grapes are suspended above a panther positioned in front of a large bowl of wine, immediately symbolic of Bacchus, the Roman god of revelry and civilization. The second panel exhibits a griffin while the third displays a snake approaching an eagle atop a tripod, an obscure reference to the Roman god Apollo.
Image credits:
Head of a Goddess
Roman Imperial
(ca. late 1st Century-early 2nd Century A.D.)
Marble
© Michael C. Carlos Museum
Photo courtesy Sotheby's
Figure of Aphrodite
Roman Imperial
(ca. late 1st Century-early 2nd Century A.D.)
Marble
© Michael C. Carlos Museum
Photo courtesy Sotheby's
Altar
Roman Augustan
(1st Century B.C.-1st Century A.D.)
Marble
© Michael C. Carlos Museum
and Head; Purchases Lansdowne Altar
by Stan Parchin
On June 6, 2006, Emory University's Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta, Georgia purchased a rare marble Figure of Aphrodite (ca. late 1st Century-early 2nd Century A.D.) at a Sotheby's auction in New York for a reported $968,000.00 (US). This remarkable acquisition was generously supported by Mrs. Michael C. Carlos. The large statue of the Greek goddess of love, called Venus by the Romans, is presently missing its head and right arm. Sculpted in marble by an unknown artist, it's a magnificently preserved Roman Imperial copy of an earlier Greek bronze original.
The Head of a Goddess (ca. late 1st Century-early 2nd Century A.D.) had been sold to a private art collector from Houston, Texas at a 2002 auction. The owner offered the piece for sale to the torso's eventual keeper. The Carlos Museum subsequently purchased the head for an estimated $50,000.00 (US).
Due to the scholarly ingenuity of researchers at Sotheby's, the Head of a Goddess was identified as belonging to the Figure of Aphrodite. The marble torso first appeared with its head attached in a French nineteenth-century print. Nearly complete, the sculpture was previously owned by Napoleon Bonaparte's art advisor. At some point, the statue's head mysteriously became separated from its torso.
Now accomplished conservator Renée Stein, who's teaching at Emory University, has embarked upon the mission of reuniting Aphrodite's head with her body. As reported by the Associated Press on November 3, 2006, Ms. Stein has enlisted the voluntary aid of inspectors from Delta Air Lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, experts at determining aircraft cracks. The specialists use sophisticated x-ray technology to scan objects for damage and assist in recommending methods of repair. A pin in the neck of Head of a Goddess suggests that sometime after its detachment from the sculpture's body, the head was mounted separately on a stand for display. The lead peg in the torso's neck will inevitably be replaced by one made of stainless steel. Stein has decided that the break's original rough edges were eliminated at some point. This dictates use of a material, as yet unspecified, to fill in the remaining spaces when the statue's two pieces are finally reunited and secured.
The nearly completed statue depicts a disrobed Aphrodite in the midst of her bath. Having detected a spectator in the sculpture's imaginary background, the deity's embarrassment is indicated by the goddess' left hand modestly covering her genital area. Immediately below her and to the left is Eros riding a dolphin, a symbolic reference to Aphrodite's mythological marine origins. The restored work is scheduled to make its American debut at the Carlos Museum's Veneralia celebration on April 1, 2007.
In related news, Mrs. Thalia Carlos' financial assistance helped to facilitate the museum's acquisition of the Lansdowne Altar (1st Century B.C.-1st Century A.D.). This Roman monumental sculpture of sound provenance was available for purchase in Maasstricht, the Netherlands at the European Fine Art Fair (March 10-19, 2006). Three relief panels decorate the exterior of the nearly four-foot-tall circular altar, probably carved during the reign of Emperor Augustus (63 B.C.-14 A.D.). In one section, branches of grapes are suspended above a panther positioned in front of a large bowl of wine, immediately symbolic of Bacchus, the Roman god of revelry and civilization. The second panel exhibits a griffin while the third displays a snake approaching an eagle atop a tripod, an obscure reference to the Roman god Apollo.
Image credits:
Head of a Goddess
Roman Imperial
(ca. late 1st Century-early 2nd Century A.D.)
Marble
© Michael C. Carlos Museum
Photo courtesy Sotheby's
Figure of Aphrodite
Roman Imperial
(ca. late 1st Century-early 2nd Century A.D.)
Marble
© Michael C. Carlos Museum
Photo courtesy Sotheby's
Altar
Roman Augustan
(1st Century B.C.-1st Century A.D.)
Marble
© Michael C. Carlos Museum
Comments
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