2nd century AD. A bronze statuette of the goddess Isis-Aphrodite standing nude in the classic pose of the Capitoline Venus with left hand over her genitals and right hand raised to her chest; the head slightly turned to the left, centre-parted hair tied in a chignon; armlets to the upper arms; a hole behind the diadem to accept a separate Egyptian crown of Isis; mounted on a marble pedestal stand. 876 grams, 25cm (9 3/4"). From the private collection of Louis de Clercq (1826-1901); thence by descent. Cf. B.S. Ridgway, Hellenistic Sculpture I, 1990, p. 355-356, Taf. 181 - B. Accompanied by an Art Loss Register certificate. Isis-Aphrodite is a form of the great goddess Isis that emphasises the iconographic and fertility aspects associated with Aphrodite (Venus in the Roman pantheon). Herodotus identified Isis with Demeter, but in the early Hellenistic period, she was identified with Aphrodite. The worship of Isis reached Rome early in the first century BC, and was a mystery religion requiring initiation. By the early first century AD, the cult was flourishing throughout the empire. (Adkins, L. and Adkins R.A. Dictionary of Roman Religion.) In Egyptian religion, Isis was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the patroness of nature and magic. She was known as protector of the dead and goddess of children, often depicted with her son Horus. Venus was an important goddess associated with beauty, desire, fertility and prosperity, known in Roman religion under numerous cult titles. However, the goddess Venus, like many of the other Roman deities, was identified with her Greek counterpart Aphrodite and adopted most of her mythology and iconography. She was also a divine ancestor of the Roman people through her son Aeneas, who fled from Troy to Italy. This syncretic goddess is a beautiful example of exchange between Graeco-Roman and Egyptian cultures, resulting in connection of two most important goddesses of fertility and maternity in one universally recognisable figure.

Very fine condition; Isis crown absent.