Venus

Many religions were syncretistic, meaning that as they grew and came into contact with other religions, they adopted new beliefs and modified their practices to reflect their changing environment. Both Greek and Roman religious beliefs were deeply influenced by the so-called mystery religions of the East, including the Egyptian cult of Isis, which revealed beliefs and practices to the initiated that remained unexplained, or mysterious, to the uninitiated. Most popular Roman cults had associations with these mystery religions and included the prospect of an afterlife.

The heavy garment, added jewelry, and awkward pose suggest that this statuette of Venus (the Roman version of the Greek goddess Aphrodite) comes from Syria or Palestine. A pillar, now lost, supported her left elbow. She wears a gilded anklet and bracelet and a tiny gold-and-pearl earring in her right ear. Her eyes were inlaid in glass.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.