11¹⁄₄ in. (28.5 cm.) high

with Mathias Komor (1909-1984), New York (Inv. no. C647).
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 1968.

K. Alexander and M. Greuel, Private Taste in Ancient Rome: Selections from Chicago Collections, Chicago, 1990, no. 12.

The Art Institute of Chicago, Private Taste in Ancient Rome: Selections from Chicago Collections, 3 March-16 September 1990.

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Lot Essay

E.R. Williams (“A Bronze Statuette of Isis-Aphrodite,” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 16, p. 97) observes that the cult of Isis-Aphrodite was promulgated by Ptolemaic queens who “eagerly claimed both the traditional association of the Pharaoh’s wife with Isis and the more flattering identification with Aphrodite.” Bronzes of this type likely once held a mirror in the clenched left hand and a blossom or a piece of fruit between the extended index finger and thumb in the right hand. For a figure with similar drapery, see no. 133 in A. de Ridder, Collection de Clerq, vol. 3. Unusual in the present example is the drapery, which was cast separately and then affixed to the figure.