| 143 A Roman silver statuette of Venus loosening her breast band, 2nd – mid-3rd century A.D. Apart from the breast band (fascia pectoralis), the goddess unclothed, shown standing in slight contrapposto. The anatomical features of her slender body well proportioned and modelled in detail. Her head slightly tilted and turned to the right. Her hair parted at the centre and tied together in a knot at the back, except for two strands falling in waves over her shoulders on the left and right. A crescent-shaped diadem placed in the hair above her forehead, under which the front hair sections and the side strands hang in gentle waves around her finely crafted features. With her right arm raised at an angle, the goddess is undoing the upper layer of the breast band, which has bound her breasts from below yet does not completely cover them. Her hand holding the toggle at the end of the band. With her left arm bent downwards in front of her torso, the goddess holds the lower layer of the breast band with the fingertips of her left hand. The band running under her left armpit onto her back and through under the right armpit into the unclasped end piece. Surface with minimal traces of corrosion and incrustations, the colour gradient slightly mottled, which in no way detracts from the overall impression of the graceful figure. Traces of solder on the soles of the feet from where they were mounted on a base. Height 13 cm. Extremely rare, erotic representation, wrought with superior craftsmanship. Breast bands are known from pictorial representations, including the famous mosaics of the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily, where gymnasts are depicted in bikini-like garments while engaging in sporting activities, however with fully covered breasts. On the other hand, bands that are only bound from below, leaving the breasts half-covered, are more likely to be the subject of scenes with erotic connotations, for example in a prominent Venus statuette from the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Trier or murals from the Lupanars of Pompeii, where prostitutes are often depicted with breast bands as their only item of clothing. Based on two XRF analyses, the composition of the alloy is not inconsistent with ancient production and is typical for contemporary silver alloys (including 94.4% Ag; 0.2% Au; 4.5% Cu; 0.5% Sn; 03% Pb; 0.1% Zn and many trace elements). CULTURAL ASSET! Provenance: Private Dutch collection (T. J.), acquired from another private Dutch collection (J.M. v.R.v.K.) in 2014, previously inherited from his father‘s collection, who had purchased the piece in Antwerp in the 1960s. 349506 II € 6.000
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