Ancient Roman Stone Head of Venus - The Goddess of Love and Beauty Circa 1st-3rd century AD or later (Grand Tours) A magnificent head of Venus, depicted with delicate facial features, almond-shaped eyes, a straight nose and subtle lips. Her elaborate coiffure consists of deeply carved, undulating locks swept back from the forehead and gathered into a prominent bun at the back of the head. A sculpted hand rests against her cheek, with the slender fingers extending towards the temple. Venus was the Roman goddess of love, beauty, desire and fertility, identified with the Greek Aphrodite. Her significance extended far beyond romantic love. According to Roman mythology, she was the mother of Aeneas, the Trojan prince whose descendants were believed to have founded Rome. This association established Venus as a divine ancestress of the Roman people. Julius Caesar claimed descent from her through the Julian family and dedicated a temple to Venus Genetrix in his new forum in 46 BC. She was also worshipped as Venus Victrix, the goddess who bestowed victory, and became closely associated with Roman political authority and imperial power. Her image was widely represented in sculpture, coinage and religious art throughout the Roman world. As far as we can see the fragment is made of stone, possibly marble, what is singular is that it apparently retains a faint layer of stucco or gesso that once held the polychromy in ancient times; Size: 12cm x 12cm x 8cm Provenance: Private European Collection; formerly acquired from old UK and European collection formed since the 1970s. COMBINED SHIPPING We offer combined shipping only for items purchased in the same auction. You need to pay for these together; otherwise, the system will not combine shipping. We don't combine and refund shipping afterwards. SHIPPING WITHIN THE EU ONLY! We ship exclusively to addresses within the European Union. Please ensure that you can provide an EU delivery address before bidding. CATAWIKI DISCLAIMER: This object has been dated based on style by the seller . No further tests, such as, a TL test, analysis of pigments or radiography scans have been conducted to check the integrity of the piece.