Torso of a Woman (100 BCE–400 CE, or modern, before 1927?): Art, History and Details

Torso of a Woman (100 BCE–400 CE, or modern, before 1927?) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Even without her head, limbs, or additional attributes, the nudity of this female statuette connects her to Aphrodite, goddess of love, or Venus, her Roman parallel. Female nudity was first realized in large scale in the mid-300s BC by the famous Athenian artist Praxiteles (395–330 BC), whose sculpture of Aphrodite was prominently displayed in a shrine in the city of Knidos (in present-day Turkey). For centuries thereafter, the female nude became a great favorite for Greek and Roman artists. The tradition continued into modern times, leading some to question the ancient origins of this sculpture.

Object facts

• Title: Torso of a Woman
• Date: 100 BCE–400 CE, or modern, before 1927?
• Culture: Italy, Roman
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: marble
• Dimensions: Overall: 40 x 19.1 x 12.1 cm (15 3/4 x 7 1/2 x 4 3/4 in.)
• Collection: GR - Roman
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 1927.383

A detail from the museum

The nudity of this female statuette connects her to Aphrodite or Venus, goddess of love.

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. George D. Pratt

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.