Roman Marble Statue of a Seated Female
Circa 2nd-3rd century A.D. A Roman copy after a Hellenistic original, probably representing the goddess Demeter or Aphrodite sitting on a rock with her legs slightly parted, left hand resting on her lap and holding a pomegranate(?); the right arm stretched out to her side and holding a water jug that appears to have been reworked at a later time; dressed in a floor-length chiton with vertical folds and fastened under the breasts by a high belt; himation only covering the lower part of the body leaving her pleated dress clearly visible between her legs; her wavy hair with central parting and collected in a soft chignon at the nape of the neck; the face with schematic features with large eyes and raised eyelids, a small fleshy mouth and a prominent chin. Cf. Ashmole, B., 'Demetra di Cnido' in Journal of Hellenic Studies, 1, 71, 1951, pp. 13-28; Arias, P.E., EAA III, 1960, s.v. Demetra, p. 65 s.; Loprete, T.C., Oggetti votivi dall’area sacra di Armento-Serra Lustrante in I Greci in Occidente, a cura di Pugliese Carratelli G., Venezia, 1996, pp. 268-269; Barra Bagnasco, M., L’età lucana. La coroplastica in I Greci in Occidente, a cura di Pugliese Carratelli G., Venezia, 1996, pp. 219-223; Ashmole, B., 'Demetra di Cnido', Journal of Hellenic Studies, 1, 71, 1951, pp. 13-28; Arias, P.E., EAA III, 1960, s.v. Demetra, p. 65 s.; Loprete, T.C., Oggetti votivi dall’area sacra di Armento-Serra Lustrante in I Greci in Occidente, a cura di Pugliese Carratelli, G., Venezia 1996, pp. 268-269; Barra Bagnasco, M., L’età lucana. La coroplastica in I Greci in Occidente, a cura di Pugliese Carratelli, G., Venezia 1996, pp. 219-223; Capano, A., Il culto di Demetra nella Lucania antica in Basilicata Regione. Notizie, 2017, p.138, fig.17. 14.9 kg, 39 cm high (15 1/2 in.).

Ex Paris collection. French gallery, Paris, 1990-2000s. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Marina Mattei and Dr Laura Maria Vigna. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11932-209624

The statuette seems to refer to the iconography of the goddess Demeter. Water, an element of purification, is a constant in the cult of this goddess, as is the fruit clutched in her left hand, most likely a pomegranate, an allusive attribute of nourishment and her relationship with Hades. The pomegranate links the iconography to the rape of Persephone, appearing among the funerary symbols as nourishment for the afterlife. Precise references and comparisons can be found with the terracotta statuette, found near Vetralla, in the National Etruscan Museum Rocca Albornoz of Viterbo and with the female bust of the sanctuary of Demeter of San Biagio in Agrigento, for the treatment of the hair and the facial features. The Demeter of Cnidus, a marble statue dated to 350 B.C., today in the British Museum, represents the goddess sitting on a throne wearing a long chiton and himation. The hairstyle with hair gathered in a low knot on the back of the head, however, references directly that of the Cnidian Aphrodite of Praxiteles. The statuette in question could be a copy of the Greek deity Demeter/Persephone created in Roman times, a period in which the cult overlaps with that of Ceres. In the early Imperial age there are examples of contamination of the iconography of Demeter/Core with Ceres, as attested among others by the statues of the Capitoline Museums inv. 231 and that of the Roman Theatre of Merida (Spain) in the National Museum of Roman Art, dated to the 1st century A.D.

[A video of this lot is available to view on Timeline Auctions Website]